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The
territory of Northern Rhodesia was administered by the South
Africa Company from 1891 to 1923 when it taken over by the
UK. 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 damaged the economy.
Elections in 1991 brought an end to one-party rule.
|
| Location:Southern Africa, east
of Angola, North of Zimbabwe and West of Malawi. |
| Geographic coordinates: 15 00
S, 30 00 E |
| Area: |
| total: 752,614 sq km |
| water: 11,890 sq km |
| land: 740,724 sq km |
| 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 |
| Climate: |
| tropical; modified by altitude; rainy
season (October to April) |
| Elevation extremes: |
| lowest point: Zambezi river 329 m |
| highest point: unnamed location in Mafinga
Hills 2,301 m |
| Land use: arable land: 7.08% |
| permanent crops: 0.03% |
| other: 92.89% (1998 est.) |
| Natural hazards: periodic drought,
tropical storms (November to April) |
| Environment-current 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. |
|
| Population |
| Population:
10,307,333 |
| 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 and death
rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in
the distribution of population by age and sex than would
otherwise be expected (July 2003 est.) |
| Age
structure: |
| 0-14
years: 46.3% (male 2,396,313; female 2,378,567) |
| 15-64
years: 50.9% (male 2,626,961; female 2,621,818) |
| 65
years and over: 2.8% (male 131,196; female 152,478) (2003
est.) |
Population
growth rate:
1.52% (2003 est.) |
Birth
rate:
39.53 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
| 24.3
deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
| 0
migrants/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
| total:
99.29 deaths/1,000 live births |
| female:
91.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
| male:
106.58 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
| total
population: 35.25 years |
| male:
35.25 years |
| female:
35.25 years (2003 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: 5.25 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: 21.5% (2001 est.) |
| People
living with HIV/AIDS: 1.2 million (2001 est.) |
| deaths:
120,000 (2001 est.) |
| Languages: |
| English
(official), major vernaculars - Bemba, Kaonda, Lozi, Lunda,
Luvale, Nyanja, Tonga, and about 70 other indigenous languages |
| Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write English total |
| population:
80.6% |
| male:
86.8% |
| female:
74.8% (2003 est.) |
|
| Agriculture |
| Products:
corn, sorghum, rice, peanuts, sunflower seed, vegetables,
flowers, tobacco, cotton, sugarcane, cassava (tapioca);
cattle, goats, pigs, poultry, milk, eggs, hides; coffee |
| Currency:
Zambian kwacha (ZMK) |
| Exchange rates:
Zambian kwacha per US dollar - NA (2002), 3,610.93 (2001),
3,110.84 (2000), 2,388.02 (1999), 1,862.07 (1998) |
|
| Economy |
| Economy overview:
|
Despite progress in
privatization and budgetary reform, Zambia's
economic growth remains below the 5% to 7% necessary to
reduce poverty significantly. Privatisation of government-owned
copper mines relieved the government from covering mammoth
losses generated by the industry and greatly improved the
chances for copper mining to return to profitability and
spur economic growth. However, low mineral prices have slowed
the benefits of privatizing the mines and have reduced incentives
for further private investment in the sector. Cooperation
continues with international bodies on programs to reduce
poverty.
|
| GDP - purchasing
power parity - $8.9 billion (2002 est.) |
| GDP - real
growth rate: 4.2% (2002 est.) |
| GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $890 (2002 est.) |
| GDP - composition
by sector: |
| agriculture: 22% |
| industry: 26% |
| services: 52% (2001) |
| Population below
poverty line: 86% (1993) |
| Household income or
consumption by percentage share: |
| lowest 10%: 1.1% |
| highest 10%: 41% (1998) |
| Distribution of
family income - Gini index: 52.6 (1998) |
| Inflation rate
(consumer prices): 21% (2002 est.) |
| Labor force:
4.29 million (2000) |
| Labor force - by
occupation: agriculture 85%, industry 6%, services 9% |
| Unemployment rate:
50% (2000 est.) |
|
| Government |
| Government type: republic |
| Capital: Lusaka |
| Administrative divisions: |
9 provinces; Central, Copperbelt,
Eastern, Luapula, Lusaka, Northern,
North-Western, Southern, Western |
| Independence: 24 October
1964 (from UK) |
| Legal system: |
| based on English common law and
customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in an
ad hoc constitutional council; has not accepted compulsory
ICJ jurisdiction |
| Executive branch: |
| chief of state: President Levy
MWANAWASA (since 2 January 2002);Vice President Nevers MUMBA
(since May 2003); note - the president is both the chief
of state and head of government head of government: President
Levy MWANAWASA (since 2 January 2002); Vice President Nevers
MUMBA (since May 2003); note - the president is both the
chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed
by the president from among the members of the National
Assembly elections: president elected by popular vote for
a five-year term; election last held 27 December 2001 (next
to be held NA December 2006); vice president appointed by
the president election results: Levy MWANAWASA elected as
president |
| International organization
participation: |
| ACP, AfDB, C, ECA, FAO, G-19,
G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC,
IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, MONUC, NAM, OAU,
OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE,
UNMIK, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
| Flag description: |
green with a panel of three vertical
bands of red (hoist side), black, and
orange below a soaring orange eagle, on the outer edge of
the flag |
|
| Transportation |
| Railways:
total: 2,173 km |
| narrow gauge:
2,173 km 1.067-m gauge |
note: includes
891 km of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority
(TAZARA) (2002) |
| Highways:
total: 66,781 km |
| paved: NA km |
| unpaved: NA
km (1997 est.) |
Waterways:
2,250 km
(note: includes Lake Tanganyika and the Zambezi and Luapula
rivers) |
| Ports and
harbors: Mpulungu |
| Airports:
109 (2002) |
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