Zambia

Zambia is a land-locked country found in southern Africa. It is bordered to the north by the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania, to the west by Namibia and Angola, to the south by Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Botswana, to the east by Malawi. Zambia was formerly known as northern Rhodesia and one of the leading producers of copper in the world.

Geographical Features

Zambia has water bodies such as River Zambezi, Luapula River, Lake Tanganyika (the second deepest lake in the world), Lake Bangweulu, Lake Mweru, Lake Kariba (the largest man-made lake in the world). It also has natural parks such as Mosi-oa-Tunya, (which has white rhinos), Lower Zambezi, Luangwa, Kafue and others.

Language, Religion and Tribes.

English is the official language. Common local languages include Bemba, Chewa, Tonga, Lozi, Nyanja, and others.

Christianity is the main religion followed by traditional beliefs, Hindu, Islam and also many combine Christianity with traditional beliefs.

Zambia has over 70 tribes. Some of the main tribes include Bemba, Lozi, Ngoni, Kaonde, Luvale, Ngoni and others.

History

The Khoisan people were the original inhabitants of Zambia. Between the 14^th and 16^th century, the Bantu people migrated from the Congo Basin and settled in Zambia. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to explore Zambia while Arab slave traders were the first foreigners to explore Zambia.  Dr. David Livingstone was the first British explorer to reach Zambia. He followed the Zambezi River and in 1855 he reached a water fall, which he named the Victoria Falls. In 1890, the British South Africa company, owned by Cecil John Rhodes, managed the country and named it Northern Rhodesia. Copper deposits were discovered in the northern part of the country. Indigenous people were forced either to vacant that area or pay hut tax which was introduced after copper deposits were discovered. Northern Rhodesia became a British colony in 1924 and gained independence on October 24^th 1964. They changed their name to Zambia and Kenneth Kaunda was the first president. The country has been ruled by three presidents since independence. The current president is Levy Mwanawasa.

Economy

Agriculture is one of Zambia's source of income, the agricultural products include cotton, tea, coffee, maize, wheat, rice, bananas, sorghum, sugarcane, cassava, poultry, cattle, goats, vegetables and others.

Apart from agriculture, Zambia's economy also depends on mining. It is the fourth largest producer of copper in the world and it holds 6% of the worlds copper reserves. The copper belt is found in the northwestern part of the country. Other minerals include cobalt, zinc, lead, coal, uranium, gold, silver and so many others.

Though this page has been carefully researched, the author does not claim expertise on Zambia.

Please send questions, comments, and corrections to emuseum@mnsu.edu and include the URL.

Sources

Goway Travel: