What you need to know about Zambia
The Zambian state is a landlocked African republic, formerly named Northern Rhodesia. Its territory covers an area of 752,614 km2 and its total population is 15,066,266 inhabitants. Its capital and largest city is Lusaka.
The official language spoken in the country is English. The country is part of several international organizations such as SADC, COMESA, AfDB, CIRGL, and CICIBA. The country’s telephone code is 260.
Colors of Zambia
The Zambian flag is a rectangular flag with a green background. On the fly side, there is a rectangle composed of 3 horizontal stripes in red, black, and orange. Above it, there is an orange eagle. The red represents the people’s struggle for sovereignty, the orange represents the country’s mineral wealth, and the black represents African roots.
Best places to visit in Zambia
Lusaka: The capital of the country is a very large urban area. You can enjoy various friendly cafes and bars as well as several beautiful places in the city. There is also a popular national park, museums containing ancient artifacts of the country.
Livingstone: it is a complex city with dusty streets, extravagant bars, and open markets. Tourists can mingle with the local population and enjoy top spots such as Victoria Falls, Maramba Market, and the Zambezi River for rafting.
Kitwe: this city is located in the northern section of the country. Tourists can choose from many lodges and accommodations. You will also discover the Mwekwera Falls, Mindolo Dam, Kumasamba Lodge, the Chembe Bird Sanctuary, and the Nkana mines.
Where is Zambia located on the world map?
On the country map, Zambia is located in Africa, more precisely in the southern part of continental Africa. Its neighbors are the DRC, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia.
Climate of Zambia
The climate of Zambia is tropical. Rain occurs for 5 months a year and appears as storms accompanied by heavy raindrops. Precipitation in the driest sections is around 800mm, in the humid zones precipitation is about 1,000 mm, and finally, the northeast zone shows precipitation of 1,400 mm annually.
Temperatures in the country are strongly influenced by the topography. The hottest part of the country is the Luangwa Valley and the southwest section. The coldest section is the northeast section and the Malawi border. Temperatures in the coldest areas reach 7°C in winter and 20°C in summer. In the warmer sections, temperatures range between 17 and 35°C.
Administrative Division of Zambia
The Zambian territory is divided into 10 provinces which are further subdivided into 117 districts. Here are the provinces of the country:
- Central
- Copperbelt
- East
- Luapula
- Lusaka
- Muchinga
- North
- Northwest
- South
- Western
Economy of Zambia
The Zambian economy is often characterized as the economy of a developing country. However, the dynamism of this economy has made it one of the fastest growing economies in Southern Africa in terms of GDP. The economy is dominated by agriculture (85%) but also by the oil, energy, and textile industries.
- Current currency: Zambian Kwacha
- Nominal GDP: 23.946 billion USD
- GDP in PPP: 75.857 billion USD
- Annual GDP growth rate: Nominal: 1.5%, PPP: 2.3%
- GDP per capita in nominal terms: 1,307 USD
- GDP per capita in PPP: 4,148 USD
- Population below poverty line: 60.5%
Population and Linguistic Data of Zambia
The current population stands at 16,445,079 inhabitants and the annual demographic growth rate is 2.91%. The birth rate is 41.1‰ and the death rate is 12‰. The life expectancy of a Zambian at birth is 53 years.
The median age of the population is 16.8 years and the sex ratio is 100 men to 100 women. Here are the main languages used in the country: English (official language), Bemba, Kaonda, Lozi, Lunda, Luvale, Chichewa, Tonga. The ethnic groups composing the population are: Africans at 98.7%, Europeans at 1.1%, and Others: 0.2%.
