Zambia Population: 14,222,233
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| Background | |
| The territory of Northern Rhodesia was administered by the [British] South Africa Company from 1891 until it was taken over by the UK 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, economic mismanagement and a prolonged drought hurt the economy. Elections in 1991 brought an end to one-party rule, but the subsequent vote in 1996 saw blatant harassment of opposition parties. The election in 2001 was marked by administrative problems with three parties filing a legal petition challenging the election of ruling party candidate Levy MWANAWASA. MWANAWASA was reelected in 2006 in an election that was deemed free and fair. Upon his abrupt death in August 2008, he was succeeded by his Vice President Rupiah BANDA, who subsequently won a special presidential by-election in October 2008. Michael SATA was elected President in September 2011. |
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| Geography | |
| Landlocked; the Zambezi forms a natural riverine boundary with Zimbabwe; Lake Kariba on the Zambia-Zimbabwe border forms the world's largest reservoir by volume (180 cu km; 43 cu mi) | |
| Location: | Southern Africa, east of Angola, south of the Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| Geographic coordinates: | 15 00 S, 30 00 E |
| Area: | total: 752,618 sq km land: 743,398 sq km water: 9,220 sq km Size comparison: slightly larger than Texas |
| Land Boundaries: | total: 5,664 km border countries: Angola 1,110 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 1,930 km, Malawi 837 km, Mozambique 419 km, Namibia 233 km, Tanzania 338 km, Zimbabwe 797 km |
| Coastline: | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Maritime claims: | none (landlocked) |
| Climate: | tropical; modified by altitude; rainy season (October to April) |
| Terrain: | mostly high plateau with some hills and mountains |
| Elevation extremes: | lowest point: Zambezi river 329 m highest point: unnamed elevation in Mafinga Hills 2,301 m |
| Natural resources: | copper, cobalt, zinc, lead, coal, emeralds, gold, silver, uranium, hydropower |
| Land use: | arable land: 6.99% permanent crops: 0.04% other: 92.97% (2005) |
| Irrigated land: | 1,560 sq km (2003) |
| Natural hazards: | periodic drought; tropical storms (November to April) |
| Current Environment Issues: | air pollution and resulting acid rain in the mineral extraction and refining region; chemical runoff into watersheds; poaching seriously threatens rhinoceros, elephant, antelope, and large cat populations; deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; lack of adequate water treatment presents human health risks |
| International Environment Agreements: | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
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| People | |
| Population: | 14,222,233 (July 2013 est.) note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected |
| Age structure: | 0-14 years: 46.2% (male 3,300,339/female 3,271,389) 15-24 years: 20% (male 1,423,026/female 1,425,654) 25-54 years: 28.5% (male 2,042,023/female 2,009,511) 55-64 years: 2.9% (male 193,758/female 213,927) 65 years and over: 2.4% (male 147,705/female 194,901) (2013 est.) population pyramid: |
| Median age: | total: 16.5 years male: 16.5 years female: 16.6 years (2012 est.) |
| Population growth rate: | 2.89% (2012 est.) |
| Birth rate: | 43.1 births/1,000 population (2012 est.) |
| Death rate: | 13.4 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.) |
| Net migration rate: | -0.76 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.) |
| Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2011 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate: | total: 70.6 deaths/1,000 live births male: 76.2 deaths/1,000 live births female: 64.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2012 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 52.57 years male: 51.35 years female: 53.83 years (2012 est.) |
| Total fertility rate: | 5.81 children born/woman (2013 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 13.5% (2009 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 980,000 (2009 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths: | 45,000 (2009 est.) |
| Nationality: | noun: Zambian(s) adjective: Zambian |
| Ethnic groups: | African 99.5% (includes Bemba, Tonga, Chewa, Lozi, Nsenga, Tumbuka, Ngoni, Lala, Kaonde, Lunda, and other African groups), other 0.5% (includes Europeans, Asians, and Americans) (2000 Census) |
| Religions: | Christian 50%-75%, Muslim and Hindu 24%-49%, indigenous beliefs 1% |
| Languages: | 11 Bantu languages (Bemba (official) 30.1%, Nyanja (official) 10.7%, Tonga (official) 10.6%, Lozi (official) 5.7%, Chewa 4.9%, Nsenga 3.4%, Tumbuka 2.5%, Lunda (official) 2.2%, Kaonde (official) 2%, Lala 2%, Luvale (official) 1.7%), English (official) 1.7%, other 22.5% (2000 Census) |
| Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over can read and write English total population: 80.6% male: 86.8% female: 74.8% (2003 est.) |
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| Government | |
| Country name: | conventional long form: Republic of Zambia conventional short form: Zambia former: Northern Rhodesia |
| Government type: | republic |
| Capital: | name: Lusaka geographic coordinates: 15 25 S, 28 17 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Administrative divisions: | 10 provinces; Central, Copperbelt, Eastern, Luapula, Lusaka, Muchinga, Northern, North-Western, Southern, Western |
| Independence: | 24 October 1964 (from the UK) |
| National holiday: | Independence Day, 24 October (1964) |
| Constitution: | 24 August 1991; amended in 1996 to establish presidential term limits |
| Legal system: | mixed legal system of English common law and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in an ad hoc constitutional council |
| Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal |
| Executive branch: | chief of state: President Michael Chilufya SATA (since 23 September 2011); Vice President Guy SCOTT (since 30 September 2011); the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Michael Chilufya SATA (since 23 September 2011); Vice President Guy SCOTT (since 30 September 2011) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of the National Assembly (For more information visit the World Leaders website ) elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 20 September 2011 (next to be held in 2016); vice president appointed by the president election results: Michael Chilufya SATA elected president; percent of vote - Michael SATA 43.3%, Rupiah BANDA 36.2%, Hakainde HICHILEMA 18.5%, other 2.0% |
| Legislative branch: | unicameral National Assembly (158 seats; 150 members are elected by popular vote, 8 members appointed by the president, to serve five-year terms) elections: last held on 20 September 2011 (next to be held in 2016) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PF 60, MMD 55, UPND 28, ADD 1, FDD 1, independents 3; seats not determined 2 |
| Judicial branch: | Supreme Court (the final court of appeal; justices are appointed by the president); High Court (has unlimited jurisdiction to hear civil and criminal cases) |
| Political parties and leaders: | Alliance for Democracy and Development or ADD [Charles MILUPI]; Forum for Democracy and Development or FDD [Edith NAWAKWI]; Heritage Party or HP [Godfrey MIYANDA]; Movement for Multiparty Democracy or MMD [Nevers MUMBA]; National Restoration Party or NAREP [Elias CHIPIMO]; Party of Unity for Democracy and Development or PUDD [Dan PULE]; Patriotic Front or PF [Michael SATA]; United National Independence Party or UNIP [Tilyenji KAUNDA]; United Party for National Development or UPND [Hakainde HICHILEMA] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders: | NA |
| International organization participation: | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, COMESA, EITI (compliant country), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MONUSCO, NAM, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNISFA, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
| Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Palan MULONDA chancery: 2419 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-9717 through 9719 FAX: [1] (202) 332-0826 |
| Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Mark C. STORELLA embassy: Ibex Hill, Lusaka mailing address: P. O. Box 31617, Lusaka telephone: [260] (0) (211) 357-000 FAX: [260] (0) (211) 357-224 |
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| Economy | |
| Zambia's economy has experienced strong growth in recent years, with real GDP growth in 2005-12 more than 6% per year. Privatization of government-owned copper mines in the 1990s relieved the government from covering mammoth losses generated by the industry and greatly increased copper mining output and profitability to spur economic growth. Copper output has increased steadily since 2004, due to higher copper prices and foreign investment. In 2005, Zambia qualified for debt relief under the Highly Indebted Poor Country Initiative, consisting of approximately US$6 billion in debt relief. Poverty remains a significant problem in Zambia, despite a stronger economy. Zambia's dependency on copper makes it vulnerable to depressed commodity prices, but record high copper prices and a bumper maize crop in 2010 helped Zambia rebound quickly from the world economic slowdown that began in 2008. Zambia has made some strides to improve the ease of doing business. A high birth rate, relatively high HIV/AIDS burden, and market distorting agricultural policies have meant that Zambia's economic growth has not dramatically decreased the stubbornly high poverty rates. | |
| GDP (purchasing power parity): | GDP (purchasing power parity): $23.68 billion (2012 est.) $22.24 billion (2011 est.) $20.87 billion (2010 est.) note: data are in 2012 US dollars |
| GDP (official exchange rate): | GDP (official exchange rate): $20.68 billion (2012 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate: | 6.5% (2012 est.) 6.6% (2011 est.) 7.6% (2010 est.) |
| GDP - per capita (PPP): | GDP - per capita (PPP): $1,700 (2012 est.) $1,600 (2011 est.) $1,600 (2010 est.) note: data are in 2012 US dollars |
| GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 20.2% industry: 33.5% services: 46.3% (2012 est.) |
| Labor force: | 5.839 million (2012 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture: 85% industry: 6% services: 9% (2004) |
| Unemployment rate: | 14% (2006 est.) 50% (2000 est.) |
| Population below poverty line: | 64% (2006) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: 1.2% highest 10%: 38.8% (2004) |
| Distribution of family income - Gini index: | 50.8 (2004) 52.6 (1998) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices): | Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.5% (2012 est.) 8.7% (2011 est.) |
| Investment (gross fixed): | Investment (gross fixed): 20.5% of GDP (2012 est.) |
| Budget: | revenues: $4.092 billion expenditures: $5.369 billion (2012 est.) |
| Public debt: | 31.2% of GDP (2012 est.) 26.7% of GDP (2011 est.) |
| Agriculture - products: | corn, sorghum, rice, peanuts, sunflower seed, vegetables, flowers, tobacco, cotton, sugarcane, cassava (tapioca), coffee; cattle, goats, pigs, poultry, milk, eggs, hides |
| Industries: | copper mining and processing, construction, foodstuffs, beverages, chemicals, textiles, fertilizer, horticulture |
| Industrial production growth rate: | 8.8% (2011 est.) |
| Electricity - production: | 10.2 billion kWh (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 93 |
| Electricity - consumption: | 7.704 billion kWh (2009 est.) |
| Electricity - exports: | 110 million kWh (2010) |
| Electricity - imports: | 33 million kWh (2010 est.) |
| Natural gas - production: | 0 cu m (2010 est.) |
| Natural gas - consumption: | 0 cu m (2010 est.) |
| Natural gas - exports: | 0 cu m (2010 est.) |
| Natural gas - imports: | 0 cu m (2010 est.) |
| Natural gas - proved reserves: | 0 cu m (1 January 2012 est.) |
| Current account balance: | -$1.048 billion (2012 est.) $215 million (2011 est.) |
| Exports: | $8.346 billion (2012 est.) $8.672 billion (2011 est.) |
| Exports - commodities: | copper/cobalt 64%, cobalt, electricity; tobacco, flowers, cotton |
| Exports - partners: | China 34.8%, Switzerland 18.2%, South Africa 7.8%, Democratic Republic of the Congo 5.4%, South Korea 4.4% (2011) |
| Imports: | $7.279 billion (2012 est.) $6.454 billion (2011 est.) |
| Imports - commodities: | machinery, transportation equipment, petroleum products, electricity, fertilizer, foodstuffs, clothing |
| Imports - partners: | South Africa 36.7%, Democratic Republic of the Congo 20.6%, China 10%, Kuwait 5.9% (2011) |
| Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: | $2.616 billion (31 December 2012 est.) $2.324 billion (31 December 2011 est.) |
| Debt - external: | $5.445 billion (31 December 2012 est.) $4.619 billion (31 December 2011 est.) |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - at home: | $NA |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad: | $NA |
| Market value of publicly traded shares: | $4.009 billion (31 December 2011) $2.817 billion (31 December 2010) $2.804 billion (31 December 2009) |
| Exchange rates: | Zambian kwacha (ZMK) per US dollar - 5,100 (2012 est.) 4,860.7 (2011 est.) 4,797.1 (2010 est.) 5,046.1 (2009) 3,512.9 (2008) |
| Fiscal year: | calendar year |
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| Communications | |
| Telephones in use: | 85,700 (2011) country comparison to the world: 149 |
| Cellular Phones in use: | 8.165 million (2011) |
| Telephone system: | general assessment: among the best in sub-Saharan Africa domestic: high-capacity microwave radio relay connects most larger towns and cities; several cellular telephone services in operation and network coverage is improving; domestic satellite system being installed to improve telephone service in rural areas; Internet service is widely available; very small aperture terminal (VSAT) networks are operated by private firms international: country code - 260; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean), 3 owned by Zamtel |
| Radio broadcast stations: | |
| Television broadcast stations: | |
| Internet country code: | .zm |
| Internet hosts: | 16,571 (2012) |
| Internet users: | 816,200 (2009) |
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| Transportation | |
| Airports: | 88 (2012) country comparison to the world: 65 |
| Airports (paved runways): | total: 8 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2012) |
| Airports (unpaved runways): | total: 80 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 53 under 914 m: 21 (2012) |
| Pipelines: | oil 771 km (2010) |
| Railways: | total: 2,157 km narrow gauge: 2,157 km 1.067-m gauge note: includes 891 km of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) (2008) |
| Roadways: | total: 91,440 km paved: 20,117 km unpaved: 71,323 km (2001) |
| Waterways: | 2,250 km (includes Lake Tanganyika and the Zambezi and Luapula rivers) (2010) |
| Ports and terminals: | Mpulungu |
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| Military | |
| Military branches: | Zambian National Defense Force (ZNDF): Zambia Army, Zambia Air Force, National Service (paramilitary youth organization) (2012) |
| Military service age and obligation: | national registration required at age 16; 18-25 years of age for male and female voluntary military service (16 years of age with parental consent); no conscription; Zambian citizenship required; grade 12 certification required; mandatory HIV testing on enlistment; mandatory retirement for officers at age 65 (Army, Air Force) (2012) |
| Manpower available for military service: | males age 16-49: 3,041,069 females age 16-49: 2,948,291 (2010 est.) |
| Manpower fit for military service: | males age 16-49: 1,745,656 females age 16-49: 1,688,670 (2010 est.) |
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Source: CIA - The World Factbook