Missionaries Serving:
Bob and Patty Meredith
Capital
Lusaka (982,400, 1990 est.)
System of Government
Multiparty Republic
Area
752,619 Sq Km (290,588 Sq Mi) (slightly larger than Texas)
Estimated 2000 Population
10,618,500
Geography
Zambia is a landlocked country which occupies a plateau with some hills and mountains. It is bound by Angola to the west, Namibia to the
south, Zimbabwe and Mozambique to the southeast, Malawi to the east, Tanzania to the northeast and Democratic Republic of the Congo
(Zaire) to the northwest.
Climate
Zambia has a mild tropical climate with cool conditions in the highlands. In general, there are three seasons: a cool dry season from May
to August, a hot dry season from September to November, and a warm wet season from December to April. Heavy tropical storms occur during the beginning of the wet season. Average temperature ranges in Lusaka are from 48 to 73 degrees Fahrenheit in July to 64 to 88 degrees Fahrenheit in October.
People
Nearly 99% of the people of Zambia are Black Africans belonging to more than 70 Bantu tribes. The remainder are Asians of Indian origin, Coloreds who are of Euro-African and Indo-African descent, and Europeans who are mainly of British origin.
Vital Statistics
Life Expectancy at Birth: 52.4 years male, 54.5 years female (1990). Infant Mortality Rate: 80.0 per 1,000 live births (1990). HIV/AIDS Adult Prevalence Rate: 19.95% (1999 est.)
Religions
Zambia consists of mostly Christians which account for 72% of the population, of which 34% are Protestant and 26% are Roman Catholic. Other religious minorities include Muslims and Hindus which account for 1% of the population. The remainder follow local native tribal beliefs.
Languages
The official language is English, although it is only spoken by a small minority. Over 30 languages are spoken throughout the country.
History
The Scottish explorer David Livingstone first came to Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) in 1851. In 1890 the British South Africa Company signed treaties with several African leaders to administer the region. The mining of copper and lead began in the early 1900’s. By 1909 the central railroad had been completed and about 1,500 Europeans had settled in the country. In 1924 the British took over the administration of the protectorate. During the 1920’s and 1930’s, advances in mining spurred development and immigration. From 1953 to 1964, Northern Rhodesia was federated with Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and Nyasaland (now Malawi). The booming copper industry had attracted about 72,000 whites to Northern Rhodesia by 1958, and the blacks there experienced increasing white domination. Following a massive civil disobedience campaign in 1962, Africans were given a larger voice in the affairs of the protectorate. In 1964, Northern Rhodesia became the independent nation of Zambia, with Kenneth Kaunda elected as the first president.
The world copper market collapsed in 1975, and the Zambia economy was devastated. It had been the third-largest miner of copper in the world after the United States and Soviet Union. Mounting domestic pressure forced President Kaunda to move Zambia toward multiparty democracy. In 1991 he was defeated by Frederick Chiluba, who called for sweeping economic reforms. By the late 1990’s, the standard of living in Zambia was about half what it had been in the mid-1960’s, before copper prices began falling. Unemployment and inflation are high, and the country is threatened by the unprecedented prevalence of deadly AIDS/HIV infections.
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