The Republic of Zambia
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Historical Overview
Two thousand years ago, hunter gatherers roamed the expansive plains of what is now Zambia. It was not until the 15th century that the Bantu-speaking immigrants from Angola and the Congo began to populate Zambia. The 19th century saw major influxes of Ngoni peoples, who came to escape political disruption and famine in southern Africa. In the mid-19th century, the Westerners arrived. The explorer David Livingstone “discovered” Zambia for the Europeans, and in 1888, Cecil Rhodes arrived and proclaimed that the areas of Northern and Southern Rhodesia (now Zambia and Zimbabwe, respectively) would be ruled by the British. In 1964, Northern Rhodesia became the Republic of Zambia. For the past 50 years, Zambia has stood by other African nations in opposing colonial or white-dominated rule, especially in Southern Rhodesia, or Zimbabwe.
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Population
Zambia is home to almost 16 million people. The most prevalent ethnic groups in Zambia are Bemba, Tonga, Chewa, Lozi, and Nsenga, but together all of those ethnic groups only account for a little over half of the overall population; the rest of the population is comprised of many different ethnic groups that each account for less than five percent of the total population. Zambia has one of the highest levels of urbanization in Africa, particularly around the cities of Lusaka, Ndola, Kitwe, and Mufulira.
English is the official nation language of Zambia, although almost four million Zambians speak Bemba as a lingua franca in urban areas in the north. In the northwestern and western provinces, Luvale is spoken by many locals, and in the southern provinces, Tonga has over one million speakers.
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Geography
Zambia is a landlocked country located in southern Africa, east of Angola, south of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and west of Mozambique and Malawi. On the southern border of Zambia, the Zambezi River forms a natural boundary between Zambia and Zimbabwe. Also on the Zambia-Zimbabwe border is Lake Kariba, the world’s largest reservoir. Zambia’s largest natural resources are copper, cobalt, zinc, lead, and coal. The climate of Zambia is tropical, and the country experiences a long rainy season each year from October to April. The capital of Zambia is Lusaka, which lies about 120 miles north of the Zambia-Zimbabwe border.
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Economy
Until 2014, the Zambian economy flourished due to their prevalent exportation of copper, and from 2004 to 2014, Zambia was actually one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. However, Zambia’s reliance on copper exportation proved to be a fatal mistake, as in 2015, the worldwide price of copper plummeted. Since then, Zambia has experienced especially high levels of extreme poverty and unemployment rates.
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Religion
Over 95 percent of Zambians are Christian, with Protestants accounting for around 75 percent of the total population. Although in 1996, Zambia declared itself a Christian nation, it continues to allow for freedom of religion among its citizens. However, all religious groups are required by law to register with the Zambian government.
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Sarah Morningred, Winter 2018