The territory of Northern Rhodesia was administered by the British South Africa Company from 1891 until it was taken over by the United Kingdom in 1923. During the 1920s and 1930s, advances in mining spurred development and immigration. The name was changed to Zambia upon independence in 1964. In the 1980s and 1990s, declining copper prices and a prolonged drought hurt the economy. Elections in 1991 brought an end to one-party rule.  Located in central-southern Africa with an area of 752,614 square kilometres, Zambia is also a landlocked country (without a seaport to the coast).

Climate

Zambia enjoys an equatorial climate with a terrain of mainly high flat plateaux, with some hills and mountains.

Population & Language

Zambia’s population stands at 11.5 million people (2006); over ninety-eight per cent of the Zambian population is African, with some traces of Europeans. English is the official language of the nation. Bemba, Kaonde, Lozi, Luvale, Nyanja and Tonga are the main vernaculars.

Religion

Zambia is a Christian nation. Less than fifty per cent of the people are Moslems or Hindus, with about one per cent who may be categorized as indigenous beliefs.

Economy

With Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of less than seven per cent (2006) and the public debt pegged at sixty-four per cent (2006), Zambia is one of the poorest countries of the world. Mining is the main economic stay of the country. Agriculture, tourism and trade also rate high on the economic scale. Unemployment soars at fifty per cent and over eighty per cent of the population lives below the poverty line.

Political Administration

Zambia is a republic and Lusaka as its Capital City. Zambia has nine administrative provinces: Central, Copperbelt, Eastern, Luapula, Lusaka, Northern, North-western, Southern and Western. The Copperbelt Province is the economic hub of the nation.

Zambia is a presidential democracy. The Head of State is also the Head of Government. Zambia has a Unicameral National Assembly made up of 150 elected members and eight appointed by the President. The judiciary branch of Government consists of the Supreme Court and the High Court. The Supreme Court is the final court of appeal which has unlimited jurisdiction for both civil and criminal cases. Zambia’s legal system is based on the English Common Law. And 18 years of age is the universal suffrage.

Zambia embraces a multiparty system of governance, in which three or more political parties have a realistic chance of participating in government. Most political parties in Zambia are interest-related parties, and occasionally some ideological parties emerge.

National Challenges

Like many African countries, Zambia’s political independence has not been translated into economic emancipation. Corruption, HIV/AIDS, and poverty remain the nation’s biggest challenges.