Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a

landlocked country A landlocked country is a country that has no territory connected to an ocean or whose coastlines lie solely on endorheic basins. Currently, there are 44 landlocked countries, two of them doubly landlocked (Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan), and t ...

at the crossroads of Central, Southern and

East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bordered to the north by the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

to the north-east,

Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

to the east,

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

to the southeast,

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

and

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

to the south,

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

to the southwest, and

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

to the west. The capital city of Zambia is

Lusaka Lusaka ( ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was abo ...

, located in the south-central part of Zambia. The population is concentrated mainly around Lusaka in the south and the

Copperbelt Province Copperbelt Province is a province in Zambia which covers the mineral-rich Copperbelt, and farming and bush areas to the south. It was the backbone of the Northern Rhodesian economy during British colonial rule and fuelled the hopes of the imme ...

to the north, the core economic hubs of the country. Originally inhabited by

Khoisan Khoisan ( ) or () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for the various Indigenous peoples of Africa, indigenous peoples of Southern Africa who traditionally speak non-Bantu languages, combining the Khoekhoen and the San people, Sān peo ...

peoples, the region was affected by the

Bantu expansion Bantu may refer to: * Bantu languages, constitute the largest sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages * Bantu peoples, over 400 peoples of Africa speaking a Bantu language * Bantu knots, a type of African hairstyle * Black Association for Natio ...

of the thirteenth century. Following

European expeditions European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...

in the eighteenth century, Britain colonised the region, forming the

British protectorate British protectorates were protectorates under the jurisdiction of the British government. Many territories which became British protectorates already had local rulers with whom the Crown negotiated through treaty, acknowledging their status wh ...

s of

Barotziland–North-Western Rhodesia Barotziland–North-Western Rhodesia was a British protectorate in southern Africa, south central Africa formed in 1899.Barotziland—North-Western Rhodesia Order in Council 1899 (SR&O 1901/567) It encompassed North-Western Rhodesia. The protec ...

and

North-Eastern Rhodesia North-Eastern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in south central Africa formed in 1900.North-Eastern Rhodesia Order in Council, 1900 The protectorate was administered under charter by the British South Africa Company. It was one of what were ...

towards the end of the nineteenth century. These were merged in 1911 to form

Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in Southern Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by Amalgamation (politics), amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-Western Rhodesia and North ...

. For most of the colonial period, Zambia was governed by an administration appointed from London with the advice of the

British South Africa Company The British South Africa Company (BSAC or BSACo) was chartered in 1889 following the amalgamation of Cecil Rhodes' Central Search Association and the London-based Exploring Company Ltd, which had originally competed to capitalize on the expecte ...

. On 24 October 1964, Zambia became independent of the United Kingdom as a republic in

the Commonwealth ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

, and prime minister

Kenneth Kaunda Kenneth Kaunda (28 April 1924 – 17 June 2021), also known as KK, was a Zambian politician who served as the first president of Zambia from 1964 to 1991. He was at the forefront of the struggle for independence from Northern Rhodesia, British ...

became the inaugural

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

. Kaunda's

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

United National Independence Party The United National Independence Party (UNIP) is a political party in Zambia. It governed the country from 1964 to 1991 under the socialist President (government title), presidency of Kenneth Kaunda, and was the sole legal party in the country ...

(UNIP) maintained power from 1964 until 1991 with him playing a key role in regional diplomacy, cooperating closely with the United States in search of solutions to conflicts in

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a self-governing British Crown colony in Southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally known as South ...

(Zimbabwe), Angola, and Namibia. From 1972 to 1991, Zambia was a

one-party state A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system or single-party system is a governance structure in which only a single political party controls the ruling system. In a one-party state, all opposition parties are either outlawed or en ...

with UNIP as the sole legal political party under the motto "One Zambia, One Nation" coined by Kaunda. Kaunda was succeeded by

Frederick Chiluba Frederick Jacob Titus Chiluba (30 April 1943 – 18 June 2011) was a Zambian politician who was the second president of Zambia from 1991 to 2002. Chiluba, a trade union leader, won the country's multi-party presidential election in 1991 as th ...

of the

social-democratic Social democracy is a social, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achieving social equality. In modern practice, socia ...

Movement for Multi-Party Democracy The Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) also known as New Hope MMD is a political party in Zambia. Originally formed to oust the previous government, MMD controlled an absolute majority in parliament between 1991 and 2001, when its past lead ...

in 1991, beginning a period of socio-economic development and government decentralisation. Zambia has since become a multi-party state and has experienced several peaceful transitions of power. Zambia contains abundant natural resources, including minerals, wildlife, forestry, freshwater, and arable land. As of the latest estimate in 2018, 47.9 percent of the population is affected by multidimensional poverty. The

Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is a regional economic community in Africa with twenty-one member states stretching from Tunisia to Eswatini. COMESA was formed in December 1994, replacing a Preferential Trade Area whi ...

(COMESA) is headquartered in Lusaka.

Etymology

The territory of Zambia was known as

from 1911 to 1964. It was renamed Zambia in October 1964 on its independence from British rule. The name Zambia derives from the

Zambezi The Zambezi (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than half of t ...

River (Zambezi may mean "the grand river").

History

Prehistoric era

Archaeological excavation work on the

Zambezi Valley The Zambezi (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than half of t ...

and

Kalambo Falls Archaeological sites of Eastern Africa Archaeological sites of Southern Africa The Kalambo Falls on the Kalambo River is a single-drop waterfall on the border of Zambia and Rukwa Region, Tanzania at the southeast end of Lake Tanganyika. The ...

shows a succession of human cultures. Ancient camp site tools near the Kalambo Falls have been radiocarbon dated to more than 36,000 years ago. The fossil skull remains of the Broken Hill Man (also known as Kabwe Man), dated between 300,000 and 125,000 years BC, further shows that the area was inhabited by early humans. Broken Hill Man was discovered in Zambia in

Kabwe District Kabwe District is a Districts of Zambia, district of Zambia, located in Central Province, Zambia, Central Province. The capital lies at Kabwe. As of the 2010 Zambian Census, the district had a population of 299,206 people.

Khoisan and Batwa

Modern Zambia once was inhabited by the Khoisan and

Batwa The Twa, often referred to as Batwa or Mutwa (singular), are indigenous hunter-gatherer peoples of the Great Lakes Region in Central Africa, recognized as some of the earliest inhabitants of the area. Historically and academically, the term � ...

peoples until around AD 300, when migrating

Bantu Bantu may refer to: *Bantu languages, constitute the largest sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages *Bantu peoples, over 400 peoples of Africa speaking a Bantu language * Bantu knots, a type of African hairstyle *Black Association for National ...

began to settle the areas. It is believed the Khoisan people originated in East Africa and spread southwards around 150,000 years ago. The Twa people were split into two groups: the

Kafwe Twa The Twa of the Kafue Flats wetlands of Zambia are one of several fishing and hunter-gatherer castes living in a patron-client relationship with farming Bantu peoples across central and southern Africa. In Southern Province, where swampy terr ...

lived around the

Kafue Flats The Kafue Flats (locally called Butwa) are a vast area of swamp, open lagoon and seasonally inundated flood-plain on the Kafue River in the Southern, Central and Lusaka provinces of Zambia. They are a shallow flood plain long and about wide,< ...

and the Lukanga Twa who lived around the Lukanga Swamp. Many examples of ancient rock art in Zambia, like the

Mwela Rock Paintings The Mwela Rock Paintings are a national monument of Zambia, about east of Kasama. The rock paintings (about 700 in all) are in caves and overhangs spread over a very wide area of bush, north of the Kasama Isoka road at 10°10' S 31°13' E, where ...

Mumbwa Caves The Mumbwa Caves are an archeological site in Zambia. The site has yielded artifacts that date from the Mesolithic, Neolithic and the Iron Age. The caves are a source of stratified, in situ deposits with faunal and human remains. Mumbwa, with its ...

, and Nachikufu Cave, are attributed to these early hunter-gatherers. The Khoisan and especially the Twa formed a patron-client relationship with farming Bantu peoples across central and southern Africa but were eventually either displaced by or absorbed into the Bantu groups.

The Bantu (Abantu)

The Bantu people or Abantu (meaning people) are an enormous and diverse ethnolinguistic group that comprise the majority of people in much of eastern, southern and central Africa. Due to Zambia's location at the crossroads of Central Africa, Southern Africa, and the

African Great Lakes The African Great Lakes (; ) are a series of lakes constituting the part of the Rift Valley lakes in and around the East African Rift. The series includes Lake Victoria, the second-largest freshwater lake in the world by area; Lake Tangan ...

, the history of the people that constitute modern Zambians is a history of these three regions. Many of the historical events in these three regions happened simultaneously. Thus, Zambia's history, like that of many African nations, cannot be presented perfectly chronologically. The early history of the peoples of modern Zambia is deduced from oral records, archaeology, and written records, mostly from non-Africans.

Bantu origins

The Bantu people originally lived in West and Central Africa around what is today Cameroon and Nigeria. Approximately 5000 years ago, they began a millennia-long expansion into much of the continent. This event has been called the

; it was one of the largest human migrations in history. The Bantu are believed to have been the first to have brought iron working technology into large parts of Africa. The Bantu Expansion happened primarily through two routes: a western one via the

Congo Basin The Congo Basin () is the sedimentary basin of the Congo River. The Congo Basin is located in Central Africa, in a region known as west equatorial Africa. The Congo Basin region is sometimes known simply as the Congo. It contains some of the larg ...

and an eastern one via the African Great Lakes.

First Bantu settlement

The first Bantu people to arrive in Zambia came through the eastern route via the African Great Lakes. They arrived around the first millennium C.E, and among them were the Tonga, Ila and Namwanga people and other related groups, who settled around Southern Zambia near Zimbabwe. The Tonga oral records indicate that they came from the east near the "big sea". They were later joined by the

Tumbuka people The Tumbuka (also known as Yombe, Kamanga, Senga, Tonga and Henga) are a group of Bantu peoples, Bantu peoples found in Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.Eastern Zambia and Malawi. These first Bantu people lived in large villages. They lacked an organised unit under a chief or headman and worked as a community and helped each other in times of field preparation for their crops. Villages moved around frequently as the soil became exhausted as a result of the slash-and-burn technique of planting crops. The people also kept large herds of cattle, which formed an important part of their societies. Great-Zimbabwe-ruins-outer-walls-3-1200

The first Bantu communities in Zambia were highly self-sufficient. Early European missionaries who settled in Southern Zambia noted the independence of these Bantu societies. One of these missionaries noted: " fweapons for war, hunting, and domestic purposes are needed, the ongaman goes to the hills and digs until he finds the iron ore. He smelts it and with the iron thus obtained makes axes, hoes, and other useful implements. He burns wood and makes charcoal for his forge. His bellows are made from the skins of animals and the pipes are clay tile, and the anvil and hammers are also pieces of the iron he has obtained. He moulds, welds, shapes, and performs all the work of the ordinary blacksmith". These early Bantu settlers also participated in the trade at the site

Ingombe Ilede Ng'ombe Ilede is an archaeological site located on a hill near the confluence of the Zambezi and Lusitu rivers, near the town of Siavonga, in Zambia. Ing'ombe Ilede, meaning "a sleeping cow", received its name from a local baobab tree that is p ...

(which translates to sleeping cow in Tonga because the fallen baobab tree appears to resemble a cow) in Southern Zambia. At this trading site, they met numerous

Kalanga Kalanga may refer to: * Kalanga people * Kalanga language Kalanga, or TjiKalanga (in Zimbabwe), is a Bantu language spoken by the Kalanga people in Botswana and Zimbabwe which belongs to the Shonic(Shona-Nyai) group of Language. It has an ext ...

Shona Shona often refers to: * Shona people, a Southern African people ** Shona language, a Bantu language spoken by Shona people today ** Shona languages, a wider group of languages defined in the early 20th century ** Kingdom of Zimbabwe, a Shona stat ...

traders from

Great Zimbabwe Great Zimbabwe was a city in the south-eastern hills of the modern country of Zimbabwe, near Masvingo. It was settled from 1000 AD, and served as the capital of the Kingdom of Great Zimbabwe from the 13th century. It is the largest stone struc ...

and

Swahili Swahili may refer to: * Swahili language, a Bantu language officially used in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda and widely spoken in the African Great Lakes. * Swahili people, an ethnic group in East Africa. * Swahili culture, the culture of the Swahili p ...

traders from the East African

Swahili coast The Swahili coast () is a coastal area of East Africa, bordered by the Indian Ocean and inhabited by the Swahili people. It includes Sofala (located in Mozambique); Mombasa, Gede, Kenya, Gede, Pate Island, Lamu, and Malindi (in Kenya); and Dar es ...

. Ingombe Ilede was one of the most important trading posts for rulers of Great Zimbabwe, others being the Swahili port cities such as

Sofala Sofala , at present known as Nova Sofala , used to be the chief seaport of the Mwenemutapa Kingdom, whose capital was at Mount Fura. It is located on the Sofala Bank in Sofala Province of Mozambique. The first recorded use of this port town w ...

. The goods traded at Ingombe Ilede included fabrics, beads, gold, and bangles. Some of these items came from what is today southern Democratic Republic of Congo and

Kilwa Kisiwani Kilwa Kisiwani ('Kilwa Island') is an island, national historic site, and hamlet community located in the township of Kilwa Masoko, the district seat of Kilwa District in the Tanzanian region of Lindi in southern Tanzania. Kilwa Kisiwani is th ...

while others came from as far away as India, China and the

Arab world The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...

. The African traders were later joined by the Portuguese in the 16th century. The decline of Great Zimbabwe, due to increasing trade competition from other Kalanga/Shona kingdoms like

Khami Khami (also written as ''Khame'', ''Kame'', or ''Kami'') is a ruined city located west of Bulawayo, in Zimbabwe. It was once the capital of the Kingdom of Butua of the Torwa dynasty. It is now a national monument and became a UNESCO World Heri ...

and Mutapa, spelt the end of Ingombe Ilede.

Second Bantu settlement

The second mass settlement of Bantu people into Zambia was of people groups that are believed to have taken the western route of the Bantu migration through the Congo Basin. These Bantu people spent the majority of their existence in what is today the Democratic Republic of Congo and are ancestors of the majority of modern Zambians. While there is some evidence that the

Bemba people The Bemba belong to a large group of Bantu peoples, primarily in the Northern Province, Zambia, Northern, Luapula Province, Luapula, Muchinga Province, Muchinga and the northern Central Province, Zambia, Central Province of Zambia. The Bemba e ...

might have an ancient connection to the

Kongo Kingdom The Kingdom of Kongo ( or ''Wene wa Kongo;'' ) was a kingdom in Central Africa. It was located in present-day northern Angola, the western portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, southern Gabon and the Republic of the Congo. At its gre ...

through

Kongo Kongo may refer to: Kongo culture *Kingdom of Kongo *Kongo cosmogram *Kongo language or Kikongo, one of the Bantu languages *Kongo languages *Kongo people *Kongo religion Places * Kongo, Ghana, a town in Ghana *Kongo Central, formerly Bas-Cong ...

people ruler, Mwene Kongo VIII Mvemba, this is not well documented.

=Luba-Lunda states

The Bemba, along with other related groups such as the Lamba, Bisa, Senga, Kaonde, Swaka, Nkoya and Soli, formed integral parts of the

Luba Kingdom The Luba Empire or Kingdom of Luba was a pre-colonial Central African state that arose in the marshy grasslands of the Upemba Depression in what is now southern Democratic Republic of Congo. Origins and foundation Archaeological research shows t ...

in Upemba part of the Democratic Republic of Congo and have a strong relation to the

Luba people The Luba people or Baluba are a Bantu ethno-linguistic group indigenous to the south-central region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The majority of them live in this country, residing mainly in Katanga Province, Katanga, Kasai Province, ...

. The area which the Luba Kingdom occupied has been inhabited by early farmers and iron workers since the 300s C.E. Over time, these communities learned to use nets and harpoons, make dugout canoes, clear canals through swamps and make dams as high as . As a result, they grew a diverse economy trading fish, copper and iron items and salt for goods from other parts of Africa, like the Swahili coast and, later on, the Portuguese. From these communities arose the Luba Kingdom in the 14th century. The Luba Kingdom was a large kingdom with a centralised government and smaller independent

chiefdom A chiefdom is a political organization of people representation (politics), represented or government, governed by a tribal chief, chief. Chiefdoms have been discussed, depending on their scope, as a stateless society, stateless, state (polity) ...

s. It had large trading networks that linked the forests in the

and the mineral-rich plateaus of what is today

and stretched from the Atlantic coast to the Indian Ocean coast. The arts were also held in high esteem in the kingdom, and artisans were held in high regard. Literature was well developed in the Luba Kingdom. One renowned

Luba Luba may refer to: Geography *Kingdom of Luba, a pre-colonial Central African empire *Ľubá, a village and municipality in the Nitra region of south-west Slovakia * Luba, Abra, a municipality in the Philippines *Luba, Equatorial Guinea, a town ...

genesis story that articulated the distinction between two types of Luba emperors goes as follows: Lunda houses-1854

In the same region of Southern Congo, the

Lunda people The Lunda (''Balunda'', ''Luunda'', ''Ruund'') are a Bantu peoples, Bantu ethnic group that originated in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo along the Kalanyi River and formed the Kingdom of Lunda in the 17th century under their rule ...

were made into a satellite of the Luba empire and adopted forms of Luba culture and governance, thus becoming the Lunda Empire to the south. According to Lunda genesis myths, a Luba hunter named Chibinda Ilunga, son of Ilunga Mbidi Kiluwe, introduced the Luba model of statecraft to the Lunda sometime around 1600 when he married a local Lunda princess named Lueji and was granted control of her kingdom. Most rulers who claimed descent from Luba ancestors were integrated into the Luba empire. The Lunda kings, however, remained separate and actively expanded their political and economic dominance over the region. The Lunda, like its parent state Luba, also traded with both coasts, the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. While ruler Mwaant Yaav Naweej had established trade routes to the Atlantic coast and initiated direct contact with European traders eager for slaves and forest products and controlling the regional Copper trade, and settlements around

Lake Mweru Lake Mweru (also spelled ''Mwelu'', ''Mwero'') (, ) is a freshwater lake on the longest arm of Africa's second-longest river, the Congo. Located on the border between Zambia and Democratic Republic of the Congo, it makes up of the total length ...

regulated commerce with the East African coast. The Luba-Lunda states eventually declined as a result of both

Atlantic slave trade The Atlantic slave trade or transatlantic slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of Slavery in Africa, enslaved African people to the Americas. European slave ships regularly used the triangular trade route and its Middle Pass ...

in the west and

Indian Ocean slave trade The Indian Ocean slave trade, sometimes known as the East African slave trade, involved the capture and transportation of predominately sub-Saharan African slaves along the coasts, such as the Swahili Coast and the Horn of Africa, and through ...

in the east and wars with breakaway factions of the kingdoms. The Chokwe, a group that is closely related to the

Luvale The Luvale people, also spelled Lovale, Balovale, Lubale, as well as Lwena or Luena in Angola, are a Bantu ethnic group found in northwestern Zambia and southeastern Angola. They are closely related to the Lunda and Ndembu to the northeast, but t ...

and formed a Lunda satellite state, initially suffered from the European demand for slaves, but once they broke away from the Lunda state, they themselves became notorious slave traders, exporting slaves to both coasts. The Chokwe eventually were defeated by the other ethnic groups and the Portuguese. This instability caused the collapse of the Luba-Lunda states and a dispersal of people into various parts of Zambia from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The majority of Zambians trace their ancestry to the Luba-Lunda and surrounding Central African states.

=The Maravi Confederacy

= In the 1200s, before the founding of the Luba-Lunda states, a group of Bantu people started migrating from the

then finally settled around

Lake Malawi Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, () is an African Great Lakes, African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. It is ...

. These migrants are believed to have been one of the inhabitants around the Upemba area in the

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

. By the 1400s these groups of migrants collectively called the Maravi, and most prominently among them was the

Chewa people The Chewa are a Bantu ethnic group primarily found in Malawi and Zambia, with few populations in Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The Chewa are closely related to people in surrounding regions such as the Tumbuka. As with the Nsenga and Tumbuka, a sm ...

who started imitating other Bantu groups like the

Tumbuka Tumbuka may refer to: *Tumbuka people, a Bantu people of eastern Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania **Tumbuka language Chitumbuka (also known as Senga) is a Bantu languages, Bantu language which is spoken primarily in Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania, and Zim ...

In 1480 the

Maravi Maravi was an empire that comprised central and southern Malawi, parts of Mozambique, and eastern Zambia, from at least the early 15th century. The Chewa language, also known as Nyanja, is the main language that emerged from the empire. The ...

Empire was founded by the kalonga (paramount chief of the Maravi) from the Phiri clan, one of the main clans, with the others being Banda, Mwale and Nkhoma. The Maravi Empire stretched from the Indian Ocean through what today is

to Zambia and central parts of

. The political organisation of the Maravi resembled that of the Luba and is believed to have originated from there. The primary export of the Maravi was ivory, which was transported to Swahili brokers. Iron was also manufactured and exported. In the 1590s the Portuguese endeavoured to take monopoly over Maravi export trade. This attempt was met with outrage by the Maravi of Lundu, who unleashed their WaZimba armed force. The WaZimba sacked the Portuguese trade towns of Tete, Sena and various other towns. The Maravi are also believed to have brought the traditions that would become

Nyau Nyau (also: ''Nyao'' meaning ''mask'' or ''initiation'') is a secret society of the Chewa, an ethnic group of the Bantu peoples from Central and Southern Africa. The Nyau society consists of initiated members of the Chewa people, forming the cosm ...

secret society from Upemba. The Nyau form the cosmology or indigenous religion of the people of Maravi. The

society consists of ritual dance performances and masks used for the dances; this belief system spread around the region. The Maravi declined as a result of succession disputes within the confederacy, attack by the Ngoni and slave raids from the Yao.

=Mutapa Empire and Mfecane

was in decline, one of its princes, Nyatsimba Mutota, broke away from the state forming a new empire called Mutapa. The title of Mwene Mutapa, meaning "Ravager of the Lands", was bestowed on him and subsequent rulers. The Mutapa Empire ruled territory between the

and

Limpopo Limpopo () is the northernmost Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a ...

rivers, in what is now Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, from the 14th to the 17th century. By its, peak Mutapa had conquered the Dande area of the

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

and Tavara. The Mutapa Empire predominately engaged in the Indian Ocean transcontinental trade with and via the

WaSwahili The Swahili people (, وَسوَحِيلِ) comprise mainly Bantu, Afro-Arab, and Comorian ethnic groups inhabiting the Swahili coast, an area encompassing the East African coast across southern Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, and northern Mozambiqu ...

. The primary exported gold and ivory for silk and ceramics from Asia. Like their contemporaries in Maravi, Mutapa had problems with the arriving Portuguese traders. The peak of this uneasy relationship was reached when the Portuguese attempted to influence the kingdoms internal affairs by establishing markets in the kingdom and converting the population to Christianity. This action caused outrage by the Muslim WaSwahili living in the capital, this chaos gave the Portuguese the excuse they were searching for to warrant an attack on the kingdom and try to control its gold mines and ivory routes. This attack failed when the Portuguese succumbed to disease along the Zambezi river. In the 1600s internal disputes and civil war began the decline of Mutapa. The weakened kingdom was finally conquered by the Portuguese and was eventually taken over by rival

states. The Portuguese also had vast estates, known as Prazos, and they used slaves and ex-slaves as security guards and hunters. They trained the men in military tactics and gave them guns. These men became expert elephant hunters and were known as the

Chikunda Chikunda, sometimes rendered as Achicunda, was the name given from the 18th century onwards to the slave-warriors of the Afro-Portuguese estates known as Prazos in Zambezia, Mozambique. They were used to defend the prazos and police their inhabit ...

. After the decline of the Portuguese the Chikunda made their way to Zambia. Litunga

It is hypothesised by Julian Cobbing that the presence of early

Europeans Europeans are the focus of European ethnology, the field of anthropology related to the various ethnic groups that reside in the states of Europe. Groups may be defined by common ancestry, language, faith, historical continuity, etc. There are ...

slave trading The history of slavery spans many cultures, nationalities, and Slavery and religion, religions from ancient times to the present day. Likewise, its victims have come from many different ethnicities and religious groups. The social, economic, a ...

and attempts to control resources in various parts of Bantu-speaking Africa caused the gradual militarisation of the people in the region. This can be observed with the Maravi's WaZimba warrior caste, who, once defeating the Portuguese, remained quite militaristic afterwards. The Portuguese presence in the region was also a major reason for the founding of the

Rozvi Empire The Rozvi Empire (1490–?, 17th century–1866) was a Shona state established on the Zimbabwean Plateau. The term "Rozvi" refers to their legacy as a warrior nation, taken from the Shona term ''kurozva'', "to plunder". They became the most ...

, a breakaway state of Mutapa. The ruler of the Rozvi, Changamire Dombo, became one of the most powerful leaders in South-Central Africa's history. Under his leadership, the Rozvi defeated the Portuguese and expelled them from their trading posts along the Zambezi river. But perhaps the most notable instance of this increased militarisation was the rise of the Zulu under the leadership of

Shaka Shaka kaSenzangakhona (–24 September 1828), also known as Shaka (the) Zulu () and Sigidi kaSenzangakhona, was the king of the Zulu Kingdom from 1816 to 1828. One of the most influential monarchs of the Zulu, he ordered wide-reaching reform ...

. Pressures from the English colonialists in the

Cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used th ...

and increased militarisation of the Zulu resulted in the

Mfecane The Mfecane, also known by the Sesotho names Difaqane or Lifaqane (all meaning "crushing," "scattering," "forced dispersal," or "forced migration"), was a historical period of heightened military conflict and migration associated with state fo ...

(the crushing). The Zulu expanded by assimilating the women and children of tribes they defeated, if the men of these Nguni tribes escaped slaughter, they used the military tactics of the Zulu to attack other groups. This caused mass displacements, wars and raids throughout Southern, Central and Eastern Africa as Nguni or Ngoni tribes made their way throughout the region and is referred to as the Mfecane. The arriving Nguni under the leadership of Zwagendaba crossed the Zambezi river moving northwards. The Ngoni were the final blow to the already weakened

Empire. Many Nguni eventually settled around what is today Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania and assimilated into neighbouring tribes. In the western part of Zambia, another Southern African group of

Sotho-Tswana The Sotho-Tswana, also known as the Sotho or Basotho, although the term is now closely associated with the Southern Sotho peoples are a meta-ethnicity of Southern Africa. They are a large and diverse group of people who speak Sotho-Tswana ...

heritage called the

Kololo Kololo is a hill in Kampala, the largest city and capital of Uganda. The name also applies to the upscale residential and commercial neighbourhood that sits on that hill. Location Kololo is close to the centre of Kampala, bordered by Naguru t ...

manage to conquer the local inhabitants who were migrants from the fallen Luba and Lunda states called the Luyana or Aluyi. The Luyana established the Barotse Kingdom on the floodplains of the Zambezi upon their arrival from Katanga. Under the Kololo, the Kololo language was imposed upon the Luyana until the Luyana revolted and overthrew the Kololo by this time the Luyana language was largely forgotten and a new hybrid language emerged,

SiLozi Lozi, also known as Silozi and Rozi, is a Bantu language of the Niger–Congo language family within the Sotho–Tswana branch of Zone S (S.30), that is spoken by the Lozi people, primarily in southwestern Zambia and in Namibia. The lan ...

and the Luyana began to refer to themselves as Lozi. At the end of the 18th century, some of the Mbunda migrated to

Barotseland Barotseland (Lozi language, Lozi: ''Mubuso Bulozi'') is a region between Namibia, Angola, Botswana, Zimbabwe including half of north-western province, southern province, and parts of Lusaka Province, Lusaka, Central Province, Zambia, Central, ...

Mongu Mongu is the capital of Western Province in Zambia and was the capital of the formerly-named province and historic state of Barotseland. Its population is 179,585 (2010 census), and it is also the headquarters of Mongu District. Mongu is the ho ...

upon the migration of among others, the Ciyengele. The Aluyi and their leader, the Litunga Mulambwa, especially valued the Mbunda for their fighting ability. By the late 18th century, most of the various peoples of Zambia were established in their current areas.

Colonial period

Europeans

One of the earliest recorded Europeans to visit the area was the Portuguese explorer

Francisco de Lacerda Dr Francisco José de Lacerda e Almeida (c. 1753 – 18 October 1798) was a colonial Brazilian-born Portuguese explorer in the 18th century. He was the son of Portuguese captain José António de Lacerda and Francisca de Almeida Pais. "He spen ...

in the late 18th century. Lacerda led an expedition from Mozambique to the Kazembe region in Zambia (with the goal of exploring and to crossing Southern Africa from coast to coast for the first time), and died during the expedition in 1798. The expedition was from then on led by his friend Francisco Pinto. This territory, located between

Portuguese Mozambique Portuguese Mozambique () or Portuguese East Africa () were the common terms by which Mozambique was designated during the period in which it was a Portuguese Empire, Portuguese overseas province. Portuguese Mozambique originally constituted a str ...

and

Portuguese Angola In southwestern Africa, Portuguese Angola was a historical Evolution of the Portuguese Empire, colony of the Portuguese Empire (1575–1951), the overseas province Portuguese West Africa of Estado Novo (Portugal), Estado Novo Portugal (1951–1 ...

, was claimed and explored by Portugal in that period. Other European visitors followed in the 19th century. The most prominent of these was

David Livingstone David Livingstone (; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, and an explorer in Africa. Livingstone was married to Mary Moffat Livings ...

, who had a vision of ending the slave trade through the "3 Cs": Christianity, Commerce, and Civilisation. He was the first European to see the magnificent waterfalls on the

Zambezi River The Zambezi (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than half of t ...

in 1855, naming them the

Victoria Falls Victoria Falls (Lozi language, Lozi: ''Mosi-oa-Tunya'', "Thundering Smoke/Smoke that Rises"; Tonga language (Zambia and Zimbabwe), Tonga: ''Shungu Namutitima'', "Boiling Water") is a waterfall on the Zambezi River, located on the border betwe ...

after

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

of the United Kingdom. He described them thus: "Scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight". Locally the falls are known as "Mosi-o-Tunya" or "thundering smoke" in the Lozi or Kololo dialect. The town of Livingstone, near the Falls, is named after him. Highly publicised accounts of his journeys motivated a wave of European visitors, missionaries and traders after his death in 1873. British South Africa Company In 1888, the

(BSA Company), led by

Cecil Rhodes Cecil John Rhodes ( ; 5 July 185326 March 1902) was an English-South African mining magnate and politician in southern Africa who served as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896. He and his British South Africa Company founded th ...

, obtained mineral rights from the

Litunga The Litunga of Barotseland (Zambia, in Zambia) is the King of the Barotse people. The ''Litunga'' resides near the Zambezi River and the town of Mongu, at Lealui on the floodplain in the dry season, and on higher ground at Limulunga on the edge of ...

of the Lozi people, the Paramount Chief of the Lozi (Ba-rotse) for the area which later became Barotziland-North-Western Rhodesia. To the east, in December 1897 a group of the Angoni or Ngoni (originally from Zululand) rebelled under Tsinco, son of King Mpezeni, but the rebellion was put down, and Mpezeni accepted the

Pax Britannica ''Pax Britannica'' (Latin for , modelled after '' Pax Romana'') refers to the relative peace between the great powers in the time period roughly bounded by the Napoleonic Wars and World War I. During this time, the British Empire became the ...

. That part of the country then came to be known as

. In 1895, Rhodes asked his American scout

Frederick Russell Burnham Major (rank), Major Frederick Russell Burnham Distinguished Service Order, DSO (May 11, 1861 – September 1, 1947) was an American scout and world-traveling adventurer. He is known for his service to the British South Africa Company and to t ...

to look for minerals and ways to improve river navigation in the region, and it was during this trek that Burnham discovered major copper deposits along the

Kafue River The long Kafue River is the longest river lying wholly within Zambia. Its water is used for irrigation and for generating Hydroelectricity, hydroelectric power. It is the largest tributary of the Zambezi, and of Zambia's principal rivers, it ...

. North-Eastern Rhodesia and Barotziland-North-Western Rhodesia were administered as separate units until 1911 when they were merged to form Northern Rhodesia, a British protectorate. In 1923, the BSA Company ceded control of Northern Rhodesia to the British Government after the government decided not to renew the company's charter.

British colonisation

In 1923,

(now Zimbabwe), a conquered territory which was also administered by the BSA Company, became a self-governing British colony. In 1924, after negotiations, the administration of Northern Rhodesia transferred to the British

Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created in 1768 from the Southern Department to deal with colonial affairs in North America (particularly the Thirteen Colo ...

. ;Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland In 1953, the creation of the

Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, also known as the Central African Federation (CAF), was a colonial federation that consisted of three southern African territories: the Self-governing colony, self-governing British colony of Southern ...

grouped together Northern Rhodesia, Southern Rhodesia, and

Nyasaland Nyasaland () was a British protectorate in Africa that was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Between 1953 and 1963, Nyasaland was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. After ...

(now Malawi) as a single semi-autonomous region. This was undertaken despite opposition from a sizeable minority of the population, who demonstrated against it in 1960–61. Northern Rhodesia was the centre of much of the turmoil and crisis characterising the federation in its last years. Initially,

Harry Nkumbula Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula (15 January 1916 – 8 October 1983)African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a political party in South Africa. It originated as a liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid and has governed the country since 1994, when the 1994 South African general election, fir ...

(ANC) led the campaign, which

's United National Independence Party (UNIP) subsequently took up.

Independence

A two-stage election held in October and December 1962 resulted in an African majority in the legislative council and an uneasy coalition between the two African nationalist parties. The council passed resolutions calling for Northern Rhodesia's secession from the federation and demanding full internal self-government under a new constitution and a new

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

based on a broader, more democratic franchise. The federation was dissolved on 31 December 1963, and in January 1964, Kaunda won the only election for Prime Minister of Northern Rhodesia. The Colonial Governor, Sir

Evelyn Hone Sir Evelyn Dennison Hone (13 December 1911 – 18 September 1979) was the last Governor of Northern Rhodesia, from 1959 until it gained its independence as Zambia in 1964. Early life Hone was born into the Hone family in Salisbury, Southern Rh ...

, was very close to Kaunda and urged him to stand for the post. Soon after, there was an uprising in the north of the country known as the Lumpa Uprising led by

Alice Lenshina Alice Lenshina (1920–1978) was a Zambian woman, prisoner of conscience and self-appointed " prophetess" who is noted for her part in the " Lumpa Uprising", which claimed 700 lives. Lenshina founded and led the Lumpa Church, a religious sect ...

– Kaunda's first internal conflict as leader of the nation. Northern Rhodesia became the Republic of Zambia on 24 October 1964, with

as the first president. At independence, despite its considerable mineral wealth, Zambia faced major challenges. Domestically, there were few trained and educated Zambians capable of running the government, and the economy was largely dependent on foreign expertise. This expertise was provided in part by British diplomat

John Willson John Willson (August 5, 1776 – May 26, 1860) was a judge and political figure in Upper Canada. He was born in New Jersey in 1776. He arrived in the Niagara District around 1789 and settled in Saltfleet Township, where he became a farmer, in 1 ...

. There were over 70,000 Europeans resident in Zambia in 1964, and they remained of disproportionate economic significance.1964: President Kaunda takes power in Zambia
.

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

'On This Day'.

Post Independence

Kaunda's endorsement of Patriotic Front guerrillas conducting raids into neighbouring (Southern) Rhodesia resulted in political tension and a militarisation of the border, leading to its closure in 1973. The Kariba hydroelectric station on the Zambezi River provided sufficient capacity to satisfy the country's requirements for electricity, despite Rhodesian management. RhodesiaAllies1965

On 3 September 1978, civilian airliner,

Air Rhodesia Flight 825 Air Rhodesia Flight 825 was a scheduled passenger flight that was shot down by the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) on 3 September 1978, during the Rhodesian Bush War. The aircraft involved, a Vickers Viscount named the ''Hunyani'', ...

, was shot down near Kariba by the

Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) was the military wing of the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), a Marxist–Leninist political party in Rhodesia. It participated in the Rhodesian Bush War against white minority rule of Rhode ...

(ZIPRA). 18 people, including children, survived the crash only for most of them to be shot by militants of the

Zimbabwe African People's Union The Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) is a Zimbabwean political party. It is a militant communist organization and political party that campaigned for majority rule in Rhodesia, from its founding in 1961 until 1980. In 1987, it merged with ...

(ZAPU) led by

Joshua Nkomo Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo (19 June 1917 – 1 July 1999) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Vice-President of Zimbabwe from 1990 until his death in 1999. He founded and led the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) ...

. Rhodesia responded with Operation Gatling, an attack on Nkomo's guerilla bases in Zambia, in particular, his military headquarters just outside Lusaka; this raid became known as the Green Leader Raid. On the same day, two more bases in Zambia were attacked using air power and elite paratroops and helicopter-borne troops. A railway (

TAZARA The Tazara Railway, also called the Uhuru Railway or the Tanzam Railway, is a railway in East Africa linking the port of Dar es Salaam in east Tanzania with the town of Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia's Central Province. The single-track railway is ...

– Tanzania Zambia Railways) to the Tanzanian port of

Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (, ; from ) is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over 7 million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa by population and the ...

, completed in 1975 with Chinese assistance, reduced Zambian dependence on railway lines south to South Africa and west through an increasingly troubled

. Until the completion of the railway, Zambia's major artery for imports and the critical export of copper was along the TanZam Road, running from Zambia to the port cities in Tanzania. The Tazama oil pipeline was also built from Dar es Salaam to

Ndola Ndola is the third largest city in Zambia in terms of size and population, with a population of 627,503 (''2022 census''), after the capital, Lusaka, and Kitwe, and the second largest in terms of infrastructure development after Lusaka. It is the I ...

in Zambia. By the late 1970s, Mozambique and Angola had attained independence from Portugal. Rhodesia's predominantly white government, which issued a Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence, Unilateral Declaration of Independence in 1965, accepted majority rule under the Lancaster House Agreement in 1979. Civil strife in both Portuguese colonies and a mounting Namibian War of Independence resulted in an influx of refugees and compounded transportation issues. The Benguela railway, which extended west through Angola, was essentially closed to Zambian traffic by the late 1970s. Zambia's support for Internal resistance to South African apartheid, anti-apartheid movements such as the African National Congress (ANC) also created security problems as the South African Defence Force struck at dissident targets during external raids. In 1989, two of Zambia's natural sites, Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park and

were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Economic troubles

In the mid-1970s, the price of copper, Zambia's principal export, suffered a severe decline worldwide. In Zambia's situation, the cost of transporting the copper great distances to the market was an additional strain. Zambia turned to foreign and international lenders for relief, but, as copper prices remained depressed, it became increasingly difficult to service its growing debt. By the mid-1990s, despite limited debt relief, Zambia's per capita foreign debt remained among the highest in the world.

Democratisation

In June 1990, 1990 Zambia riots, riots against Kaunda accelerated and many protesters were killed by the regime. In 1990, Kaunda survived an 1990 Zambian coup d'état attempt, attempted coup, and in 1991, he agreed to reinstate multiparty democracy, having instituted one-party rule under the Choma Commission of 1972. Following multiparty elections, Kaunda was removed from office. In the 2000s, the economy stabilised, attaining single-digit inflation in 2006–2007, real GDP growth, decreasing interest rates, and increasing levels of trade. Much of its growth is due to foreign investment in mining and to higher world copper prices. All this led to Zambia being courted enthusiastically by aid donors and saw a surge in investor confidence in the country.

Politics

Politics in Zambia takes place in a framework of a presidential system, presidential representative democracy, representative democratic republic, whereby the president of Zambia is both head of state and head of government in a pluriform multi-party system. The government exercises executive power, while legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. Zambia became a republic immediately upon attaining independence in October 1964. From 2011 to 2014, Zambia's president had been Michael Sata, until Sata died on 28 October 2014. After Sata's death, Vice President Guy Scott, a Zambian of Scottish descent, became acting president. Presidential elections were held on 22 January 2015. A total number of 11 presidential candidates contested in the election and On 24 January 2015, it was announced that Edgar Lungu, Edgar Chagwa Lungu had won the election to become the 6th President in a tightly contested race. He won 48.33% of the vote, a lead of 1.66% over his closest rival, Hakainde Hichilema, with 46.67%. Nine other candidates all got less than 1% each. In August 2016 Zambian general election president Edgar Lungu won re-election narrowly in the first round of the election. The opposition had allegations of fraud and the governing Patriotic Front (Zambia), Patriotic Front (PF) rejected the allegations made by opposition UPND party. In the 2021 Zambian general election, 2021 general elections, characterised by a 70% voter turnout, Hakainde Hichilema won 59% of the vote, with his closest rival, incumbent president Edgar Chagwa Lungu, receiving 39% of the vote. On 16 August Edgar Lungu conceded in a TV statement, sending a letter and congratulating president-elect Hakainde Hichilema. On 24 August 2021, Hakainde Hichilema was sworn in as the new president of Zambia.

Foreign relations

After independence in 1964, the foreign relations of Zambia were mostly focused on supporting liberation movements in other countries in Southern Africa, such as the African National Congress and SWAPO. During the Cold War, Zambia was a member of the Non-Aligned Movement.

Military

The Zambian Defence Force (ZDF) consists of the Zambia Army (ZA), the Zambia Air Force (ZAF), and the Zambian National Service (ZNS). The ZDF is designed primarily against external threats. In 2019, Zambia signed the UN treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Administrative divisions

Zambia is administratively divided into ten Provinces of Zambia, provinces subdivided into 117 Districts of Zambia, districts, and electorally into 156 constituencies and 1,281 wards. ;Provinces # Central Province, Zambia, Central Province # Copperbelt Province, Copperbelt # Eastern Province, Zambia, Eastern Province # Luapula Province, Luapula # Lusaka Province, Lusaka # Muchinga Province, Zambia, Muchinga # North-Western Province, Zambia, North-Western Province # Northern Province, Zambia, Northern Province # Southern Province, Zambia, Southern Province # Western Province, Zambia, Western Province

Human rights

The government is sensitive to any opposition and criticism and has been quick to prosecute critics using the legal pretext that they had incited public disorder. Libel laws are used to suppress free speech and the press. Same-sex sexual activity is illegal for both males and females in Zambia. A 2010 survey revealed that only 2% of Zambians find homosexuality to be morally acceptable. In December 2019, it was reported that United States Ambassador to Zambia Daniel Lewis Foote was "horrified" by Zambia's jailing of same-sex couple Japhet Chataba and Steven Samba. After an appeal failed and the couple was sentenced to 15 years in prison, Foote asked the Zambian government to review both the case and the country's anti-homosexuality laws. Foote faced a backlash and cancelled public appearances after he was threatened on social media, and was subsequently recalled after Lungu declared him ''persona non grata''.

Geography

Zambia is a

in southern Africa, with a tropical climate, and consists mostly of high plateaus with some hills and mountains, dissected by river valleys. At it is the 39th-largest country in the world, slightly smaller than Chile. The country lies mostly between latitudes 8° and 18°S, and longitudes 22° and 34°E. Zambia is drained by two major river basins: the Zambezi River, Zambezi/Kafue basin in the centre, west, and south covering about three-quarters of the country; and the Congo River, Congo basin in the north covering about one-quarter of the country. A very small area in the northeast forms part of the internal drainage basin of Lake Rukwa in Tanzania. In the Zambezi basin, there are a number of major rivers flowing wholly or partially through Zambia: the Kabompo River, Kabompo, Lungwebungu River, Lungwebungu, Kafue River, Kafue, Luangwa River, Luangwa, and the Zambezi itself, which flows through the country in the west and then forms its southern border with Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe. Its source is in Zambia but it diverts into Angola, and a number of its tributaries rise in Angola's central highlands. The edge of the Cuando River floodplain (not its main channel) forms Zambia's southwestern border, and via the Chobe River that river contributes very little water to the Zambezi because most are lost by evaporation.Beilfuss, Richard and dos Santos, David (2001
"Patterns of Hydrological Change in the Zambezi Delta, Mozambique".
Working Paper No 2 Program for the Sustainable Management of Cahora Bassa Dam and The Lower Zambezi Valley. Two of the Zambezi's longest and largest tributaries, the Kafue and the Luangwa, flow mainly in Zambia. Their confluences with the Zambezi are on the border with Zimbabwe at Chirundu and Luangwa, Zambia, Luangwa town respectively. Before its confluence, the Luangwa River forms part of Zambia's border with Mozambique. From Luangwa town, the Zambezi leaves Zambia and flows into Mozambique, and eventually into the Mozambique Channel. The Zambezi falls about over the Victoria Falls, located in the southwest corner of the country, subsequently flowing into Lake Kariba. The Zambezi valley, running along the southern border, is both deep and wide. From Lake Kariba going east, it is formed by grabens and like the Luangwa, Mweru-Luapula, Mweru-wa-Ntipa and Lake Tanganyika valleys, is a rift valley. The north of Zambia is very flat with broad plains. In the west the most notable being the Barotse Floodplain on the Zambezi, which floods from December to June, lagging behind the annual rainy season (typically November to April). The flood dominates the natural environment and the lives, society, and culture of the inhabitants and those of other smaller, floodplains throughout the country. In Eastern Zambia the plateau which extends between the Zambezi and Lake Tanganyika valleys is tilted upwards to the north, and so rises imperceptibly from about in the south to in the centre, reaching in the north near Mbala. These plateau areas of northern Zambia have been categorised by the World Wildlife Fund as a large section of the Central Zambezian miombo woodlands ecoregion. Eastern Zambia shows great diversity. The Luangwa Valley splits the plateau in a curve north-east to south-west, extended west into the heart of the plateau by the deep valley of the Lunsemfwa River. Hills and mountains are found by the side of some sections of the valley, notably in its north-east the Nyika Plateau () on the Malawi border, which extend into Zambia as the Mafinga Hills, containing the country's highest point, Mafinga Central (). The Muchinga Mountains, the watershed between the Zambezi and Congo drainage basins, run parallel to the deep valley of the Luangwa River and form a sharp backdrop to its northern edge, although they are almost everywhere below . Their culminating peak Mumpu is at the western end and at is the highest point in Zambia away from the eastern border region. The border of the Congo Pedicle was drawn around this mountain. The southernmost headstream of the Congo River rises in Zambia and flows west through its northern area firstly as the Chambeshi River, Chambeshi and then, after the Lake Bangweulu, Bangweulu Swamps as the Luapula River, Luapula, which forms part of the border with the

. The Luapula flows south then west before it turns north until it enters

. The lake's other major tributary is the Kalungwishi River, which flows into it from the east. The Luvua River drains Lake Mweru, flowing out of the northern end to the Lualaba River (Upper Congo River). Lake Tanganyika is the other major hydrographic feature that belongs to the Congo basin. Its south-eastern end receives water from the Kalambo River, which forms part of Zambia's border with Tanzania. This river has Africa's second highest uninterrupted waterfall, the

Climate

Zambia is located on the plateau of Central Africa, between above sea level. The average elevation of gives the land a generally moderate climate. The climate of Zambia is tropical, modified by elevation. In the Köppen climate classification, most of the country is classified as humid subtropical or tropical wet and dry climate, tropical wet and dry, with small stretches of semi-arid steppe climate in the south-west and along the Zambezi valley. There are two main seasons, the rainy season (November to April) corresponding to summer, and the dry season (May/June to October/November), corresponding to winter. The dry season is subdivided into the cool dry season (May/June to August), and the hot dry season (September to October/November). The modifying influence of altitude gives the country pleasant subtropical weather rather than tropical conditions during the cool season of May to August. However, average monthly temperatures remain above over most of the country for eight or more months of the year.

Biodiversity

There are numerous ecosystems in Zambia, such as forest, thicket, woodland and grassland vegetation types. In 2015, Zambia was reported to have approximately 12,505 identified species: 63% animal species, 33% plant species and 4% bacterial species and other microorganisms. There are an estimated 3,543 species of wild flowering plants, consisting of sedges, herbaceous plants and woody plants. The Northern Province, Zambia, Northern and North-Western Province, Zambia, North-Western provinces of the country especially have the highest diversity of flowering plants. Approximately 53% of flowering plants are rare and occur throughout the country. A total of List of mammals of Zambia, 242 mammal species are found in the country, with most occupying the woodland and grassland ecosystems. The Rhodesian giraffe and Kafue lechwe are some of the well-known subspecies that are endemic to Zambia. An estimated 757 bird species have been seen in the country, of which 600 are either resident or Afrotropic migrants; 470 breed in the country; and 100 are non-breeding migrants. The Zambian barbet is a species endemic to Zambia. Roughly 490 known fish species, belonging to 24 fish families, have been reported in Zambia, with Lake Tanganyika having the highest number of endemic species.

Demographics

As of the 2022 Zambian census, Zambia's population was 19,610,769. During its colonial administration by the British between 1911 and 1963, the country attracted immigrants from Europe and the Indian subcontinent, the latter of whom came as indentured workers. While most Europeans left after the collapse of white-minority rule, many Asians remained. Zambia is home to a growing Asian community, with a majority being of Indian and Chinese descent. Umutomboko ceremony

In the first census—conducted on 7 May 1911—there were a total of 1,497 Europeans; 39 Asiatics and an estimated 820,000 black Africans. Black Africans were not counted in the six censuses conducted in 1911, 1921, 1931, 1946, 1951 and 1956, prior to independence, but their population was estimated. By 1956, there were 65,277 Europeans, 5,450 Asiatics, 5,450 coloureds and an estimated 2,100,000 black Africans. The main ethnic groups in Zambia are Bemba 3.3 million (33.6%), Nyanja 1.8 million (18.2%), Tonga 1.7 million (16.8%), North-Western peoples 1 million (10.3%), Lozi (Barotse) 770,000 (7.8%), Mambwe 580,000 (5.9%), Tumbuka 500,000 (5.1%), Lamba 165,000 (2%), Asians 11,900 and Europeans 6,200. In the 2010 population census, 99.2% were black Africans and 0.8% consisted of other racial groups. Zambia is one of the most highly urbanised countries in sub-Saharan Africa, with 44% of the population concentrated along the major transport corridors, while rural areas are sparsely populated. The fertility rate was 6.2 (6.1 in 1996, 5.9 in 2001–02).

Largest towns

The onset of industrial copper mining on the Copperbelt in the late 1920s triggered rapid urbanisation. Although urbanisation was overestimated during the colonial period, it was substantial. Mining townships on the Copperbelt soon dwarfed existing centres of population and continued to grow rapidly following Zambian independence. Economic decline in the Copperbelt from the 1970s to the 1990s has altered patterns of urban development, but the country's population remains concentrated around the railway and roads running south from the Copperbelt through Kapiri Mposhi, Lusaka, Choma and Livingstone.

Ethnic groups

Zambia nominally includes approximately 73 ethnic groups, although in practice there are fewer distinct groups. Most Zambians are Bantu languages, Bantu-speaking. The three largest ethnolinguistic groups are the Bemba people, Bemba, Chewa people, Nyanja (also called the Chewa), and Tonga people of Zambia and Zimbabwe, Tonga; four smaller groups are the Kaonde, Lozi, Lunda people, Luanda, and

. In 2010, the population was estimated to be 21% Bemba, 13.6% Tonga, 7.4% Chewa, 5.7% Lozi, 5.3% Nsenga people, Nsenga, 4.4%

, 4.0% Ngoni, and 38.6% other. The Bemba group is predominant in the Northern, Luapula, and Copperbelt provinces; the Nyanja in the Eastern and Central provinces; the Tonga in the Southern and Western provinces; and the Lozi in the Western Province. The Tumbuka minority lives in the Luangwa River valley in the east. No single ethnolinguistic group is predominant in the North-Western Province, Zambia, North-Western Province, which is sparsely populated. In addition to the linguistic dimension, tribal identities are relevant in Zambia. These tribal identities are often linked to family allegiance or to traditional authorities. The tribal identities are nested within the main language groups. Immigrants, mostly British or South African, as well as some white Zambian citizens of British descent, live mainly in Lusaka and in the Copperbelt in northern Zambia, where they are either employed in mines, financial and related activities or retired. There were 70,000 Europeans in Zambia in 1964, but many have since left the country. Zambia has a small but economically important Asian population, most of whom are Indians and Chinese. This minority group has a massive impact on the economy controlling the manufacturing sector. An estimated 80,000 Chinese reside in Zambia. In recent years, several hundred dispossessed white farmers have left Zimbabwe at the invitation of the Zambian government, to take up farming in the Southern province. Zambia has a minority of people of colour of mixed race, also known as coloureds. Coloureds in Zambia no longer appear on the census. During colonialism, Racial segregation, segregation separated people of colour, blacks and whites in public places including schools, hospitals, and in housing. There has been an increase in interracial relationships due to Zambia's growing economy importing labor. People of colour are not recorded on the census but are considered a minority in Zambia. According to the ''World Refugee Survey 2009'' published by the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, Zambia had a population of refugees and asylum seekers numbering approximately 88,900. The majority of refugees in the country came from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (47,300 refugees from the DRC living in Zambia in 2007), Angola (27,100; see Angolans in Zambia), Zimbabwe (5,400) and Rwanda (4,900). Zambians are generally welcoming towards foreigners. Beginning in May 2008, the number of Zimbabweans in Zambia began to increase significantly; the influx consisted largely of Zimbabweans in South Africa, Zimbabweans formerly living in South Africa who were fleeing Xenophobia in South Africa#May 2008 riots, xenophobic violence there. Nearly 60,000 refugees live in camps in Zambia, while 50,000 are mixed in with the local populations. Refugees who wish to work in Zambia must apply for permits, which can cost up to $500 per year.

Religion

Zambia is officially a "Christian nation" under the 1996 constitution, but recognizes and protects freedom of religion. Zambia is the only African nation to designate Christianity as a state religion. The Zambia Statistics Agency estimates that 95.5% of Zambians are Christian, with 75.3% Protestantism, Protestant and 20.2% Catholic Church in Zambia, Catholic.Zambia
''Report on International Religious Freedom'', U.S. Department of State (2023). The Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops is the Catholic episcopal conference. Many Zambian Christians are syncretic, combining Traditional African religions, indigenous religiously beliefs with Christianity. The largest Protestant denominations are the Anglicanism, Anglicans, evangelicals, and Pentecostals. Christianity arrived to Zambia through European colonialism, and its wide variety of sects and movements reflect changing patterns of missionary activity; for example, Catholicism came from Portuguese Mozambique in the east, while Anglicanism reflects British influences from the south. Following its independence in 1964, Zambia saw a greater influx of other church missions from across the world, particularly North America and Germany. In subsequent decades, Western missionary roles have been assumed by native believers (except for some technical positions, such as physicians). After

, a Pentecostal Christian, became president in 1991, Pentecostal congregations expanded considerably around the country. Some Christian denominations with a relatively small global presence are popular in Zambia. The country has one of the world's largest communities of Seventh-day Adventist Church, Seventh-day Adventists on a per-capita basis, accounting for about 1 in 18 Zambians. The Lutheran Church of Central Africa has over 11,000 members in the country. About 12 per cent of Zambians are members of the New Apostolic Church; with more than 1.2 million believers, the country has the third-largest community in Africa, out of a total worldwide membership of over 9 million. Approximately 2.7% of Zambians are Islam in Zambia, Muslim, primarily Sunni Islam, Sunni with smaller numbers of Ismaili and Twelver Shia. The Muslim community, which numbers 100,000 according to one estimate, includes both refugees from Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Congo and Somali diaspora, Somalia, as well as immigrants from South Asia and the Middle East who have become Zambian citizens. Hindus, primarily of South Asian ancestry, numbered approximately 10,000 as of 2019. At its peak in the 1960s, a small History of the Jews in Zambia, Jewish community in Zambia numbered about 1,000, mostly with origins in History of the Jews in Lithuania, Lithuania, History of the Jews in Latvia, Latvia, and History of the Jews in Germany, Germany; by 2012 there were fewer than 50 Zambian Jews, most of whom live in Lusaka and Northern Province. There are small numbers of Baha'is, Buddhists, and Sikhs.

Languages

The exact number of Zambian languages is unknown, although many texts claim that Zambia has 73 languages and/or dialects; this figure is probably due to a non-distinction between language and dialect, based on the criterion of mutual intelligibility. On this basis, the number of Zambian languages would probably be only about 20 or 30. The official language of Zambia is English, which is used for official business, education, and law. The main local language, especially in Lusaka, is Nyanja (Chewa), followed by Bemba language, Bemba. In the Copperbelt, Bemba is the main language and Nyanja second. Bemba and Nyanja are spoken in the urban areas, in addition to other indigenous languages that are commonly spoken in Zambia. These include Lozi language, Lozi, Tumbuka language, Tumbuka, Kaonde, Tonga language (Zambia and Zimbabwe), Tonga, Lunda languages, Lunda and Luvale, which featured on the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) local-languages section. Urbanisation has had a dramatic effect on some of the indigenous languages, including the assimilation of words from other languages. Urban dwellers sometimes differentiate between urban and rural dialects of the same language by prefixing the rural languages with 'deep'. Most will thus speak Bemba and Nyanja in the Copperbelt; Nyanja is predominantly spoken in Lusaka and Eastern Zambia. English is used in official communications and is the language of choice at home among – now common – interethnic families. This evolution of languages has led to Zambian slang heard throughout Lusaka and other major cities. The majority of Zambians usually speak more than one language: the official language, English, and the most spoken language in the town or area they live in. Portuguese has been introduced as a second language into the school curriculum due to the presence of a large Portuguese-speaking Angolan community. French is commonly studied in private schools, while some secondary schools have it as an optional subject. A German course has been introduced at the University of Zambia (UNZA).

Education

Pupils at St Monicas Girls Secondary School

The right to equal and adequate education for all is enshrined within the Zambian constitution. The Education Act of 2011 regulates equal and quality education. The English-language literacy rate as of 2018 is 86.7%. The government's annual expenditure on education has varied significantly. As a percentage of the government budget, it was 19.6% in 2006, 15.3% in 2011, and 20.2% in 2015. As of 2020, education expenditures constituted 3.7% of GDP.

Health

Zambia is experiencing a generalised HIV/AIDS epidemic, with a national List of countries by HIV/AIDS adult prevalence rate, HIV prevalence rate of 12.10 per cent among adults. However, the country has made progress over the past decade: The prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS for adults aged 15–49 decreased to 13 per cent in 2013/14, compared to 16 per cent roughly a decade earlier. Other health outcomes have also improved significantly, despite remaining poor by global standards. The maternal mortality rate in 2020 was 135 per 100,000 live births, compared to 169 in 2014 and 296 in 2007; over the same period, the mortality rate of children under five dropped to 59.3 per 1,000 live births in 2020 from 69.2 and 93.3 in 2014 and 2007 respectively.

Economy

In 2022, Zambia averages between $7.5 billion and $8 billion of exports annually. It totaled $9.1 billion worth of exports in 2018. In 2015, about 54.4% of Zambians lived below the recognised national poverty line, improved from 60.5% in 2010. Rural poverty rates were about 76.6% and urban rates at about 23.4%. The national poverty line was ZMK 214 (USD 12.85) per month. As of the latest estimate in 2018 by the United Nations Development Programme, 47.9 percent of the population continued to be affected by multidimensional poverty. Unemployment and underemployment in urban areas are serious problems. Most rural Zambians are subsistence farmers. Zambia was ranked 116th in the Global Innovation Index in 2024. Social indicators continue to decline, particularly in measurements of life expectancy at birth (about 40.9 years) and maternal mortality (830 per 100,000 pregnancies) in 2007. By 2023, the life expectancy at birth had risen again to around 62 years. Zambia fell into poverty after international copper prices declined in the 1970s. The socialist regime made up for falling revenue with several abortive attempts at International Monetary Fund structural adjustment programmes (SAPs). The policy of not trading through the main supply route and line of rail to the sea – the territory was known as Rhodesia (from 1965 to 1979), and now known as Zimbabwe – cost the economy greatly. After the Kaunda regime, (from 1991) successive governments began limited reforms. The economy stagnated until the late 1990s. In 2007 Zambia recorded its ninth consecutive year of economic growth. Inflation was 8.9%, down from 30% in 2000. Zambia is still dealing with economic reform issues such as the size of the public sector, and improving Zambia's social sector delivery systems. Economic regulations and red tape are extensive, and corruption is widespread. The bureaucratic procedures surrounding the process of obtaining licences encourages the widespread use of facilitation payments. Zambia's total foreign debt exceeded $6 billion when the country qualified for Highly Indebted Poor Country Initiative (HIPC) debt relief in 2000, contingent upon meeting certain performance criteria. Initially, Zambia hoped to reach the HIPC completion point, and benefit from substantial debt forgiveness, in late 2003. In January 2003, the Zambian government informed the International Monetary Fund and World Bank that it wished to renegotiate some of the agreed performance criteria calling for privatisation of the Zambia National Commercial Bank and the national telephone and electricity utilities. Although agreements were reached on these issues, subsequent overspending on civil service wages delayed Zambia's final HIPC debt forgiveness from late 2003 to early 2005, at the earliest. In an effort to reach HIPC completion in 2004, the government drafted an austerity budget for 2004, freezing civil service salaries and increasing the number of taxes. The tax hike and public sector wage freeze prohibited salary increases and new hires. This sparked a nationwide strike in February 2004. The Zambian government is pursuing an economic diversification programme to reduce the economy's reliance on the copper industry. This initiative seeks to exploit other components of Zambia's rich resource base by promoting agriculture, tourism, gemstone mining, and hydro-power. In July 2018, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Zambia's president Edgar Lungu signed 12 agreements in capital Lusaka on areas ranging from trade and investment to tourism and diplomacy.

Mining

Mining and quarrying accounted for approximately 13.2% of the Zambian GDP in 2019.Zambia (Advance Release)
''2019 Minerals Yearbook'', U.S. Geological Survey. The Zambian economy has historically been based on the copper mining industry. The industry was nationalized in 1973; under government control, production declined substantially.J. Sikamo, A. Mwanza; C. Mweemba
Copper mining in Zambia - history and future
''Journal of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy'' (2016). After privatisation during the period 1996–2000, investment, production, and jobs in the copper sector increased. As of 2019, copper exports constitute about 69% of the value of all Zambian goods exported. In 2023, Zambia produced 698,000 metric tons of copper.Zambia to set up mineral investment and trading unit
Reuters (June 13, 2024). It is the second-largest copper producer in Africa and the seventh-largest copper producer in the world, accounting for 4% of global production. The

of Zambia accounts for almost one-quarter of the country's GDP and one-third of the country's copper production. The state-owned ZCCM Investments Holdings owns several mining operations; it holds a 49% stake in Mopani Copper Mines, with the remaining 51% held by the United Arab Emirates through the International Holding Company. ZCCM has interests in mining operations owned by Vedanta Resources and First Quantum Minerals. As Zambia's economy is heavily dependent on the copper industry, the national exchange rate changes in accordance with the copper price. The Chinese government, via state-owned firms and as part of its Belt and Road Initiative, has made substantial foreign direct investments in Zambian copper to secure this strategic resource for the Chinese market. The Chinese firm JCHX Mining owns 80% of Zambia's Lubambe Copper Mines, with ZCCM holding the remaining 20%. Hazardous working conditions, low wages, and labor abuses at the Chinese-operated Collum Coal Mine have been a source of political controversy in Zambia. In addition to copper, major minerals mined in Zambia include Gold mining, gold (Kansanshi mine), manganese (Serenje mine), and Nickel mining, nickel (Munali mine), as well as gemstones (specifically amethyst, beryl, emerald, and tourmaline).

Agriculture

Agriculture plays a very important part in Zambia's economy providing many more jobs than the mining industry. A small number of White people in Zimbabwe, white Zimbabwean farmers were welcomed into Zambia after their expulsion by Robert Mugabe, whose numbers had reached roughly 150 to 300 people . They farm a variety of crops including tobacco, wheat, and chili peppers on an estimated 150 farms. The skills they brought, combined with general economic liberalisation under the late Zambian president Levy Mwanawasa, has been credited with stimulating an agricultural boom in Zambia. In 2004, for the first time in 26 years, Zambia exported more corn than it imported. In December 2019, the Zambian government unanimously decided to legalise cannabis for medicinal and export purposes only.

Tourism

Tourism comprised 5.8% of the Zambian GDP in 2021; the record high, of 9.8%, occurred in 2019. Travel and Tourism
in ''Zambia Country Commercial Guide'', International Trade Administration (2024). Most tourism focused on wildlife protected areas, specifically Zambia's List of national parks of Zambia, 20 national parks and 34 game management areas. The most significant tourist site, the

, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Zambian side of the falls is within Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park; the rest of the falls are part of neighboring

. Livingstone, which lies close to Victoria Falls, has become an important tourist centre. Other popular national parks include North Luangwa National Park, North Luangwa, South Luangwa National Park, South Luangwa, Kafue National Park, Kafue, and Liuwa Plain National Park, Liuwa Plain. The Zambian government has promoted tourism as a tool for economic development, particularly in rural areas, as well as for wildlife conservation.

Energy

In 2009, Zambia generated 10.3 TWh of electricity and has been rated high in use of both solar power and hydroelectricity. However, , Zambia began experiencing a serious energy shortage due to the poor 2014/2015 rain season, which resulted in low water levels at the Kariba dam and other major dams. In September 2019, African Green Resources (AGR) announced that it would invest $150 million in 50 megawatt (MW) solar farm, along with irrigation dam and expanding the existing grain silo capacity by 80,000 tonnes.

Culture

Prior to the establishment of modern Zambia, the inhabitants lived in independent tribes, each with its own way of life. One of the results of the colonial era was the growth of urbanisation. Different ethnic groups started living together in towns and cities, influencing each other's way of life. They also started adopting aspects of global or universal culture, especially in terms of dressing and mannerisms. Much of the original cultures of Zambia have largely survived in rural areas, with some outside influences such as Christianity. Cultures that are specific to certain ethnic groups within Zambia are known as 'Zambian cultures' while those lifestyles that are common across ethnic groups are labelled "Zambian culture" because they are practiced by almost every Zambian. In the urban setting, there is a continuous integration and evolution of these cultures to produce what is called "Zambian culture". Zambia practices several ceremonies and rituals ranging from nationally recognised traditional ceremonies to unrecognised yet important ceremonies. Many of the ceremonies and rituals are performed on special occasions celebrating or marking achievements, anniversaries, the passage of time, coronations and presidential occasions, atonement and purification, graduation, dedication, oaths of allegiance, initiation, marriage, funeral, birth ceremonies and others. Like most African countries, Zambia practices both disclosed and undisclosed ceremonies and rituals. Among the disclosed ceremonies and rituals include calendrical or seasonal, contingent, affliction, divination, initiation and regular or daily ceremonies. Undisclosed ceremonies include those practiced in secret such by spiritual groups like Nyau and Nakisha dancers and traditional marriage counsellors such as alangizi women. As of December 2016, Zambia had 77 calendrical or seasonal traditional ceremonies recognized by government, and this number will increase in the near future. The ceremonies once a year include Nc'wala, Kulonga, Kuomboka, Malaila, Nsengele, Chibwela kumushi, Dantho, Ntongo, Makundu, Lwiindi, Chuungu, and Lyenya. These are known as Zambian traditional ceremonies. Some of the more prominent are: Kuomboka and Kathanga (Western Province), Kazembe#Mutomboko Festival, Mutomboko (Luapula Province), Kulamba ceremony, Kulamba and Ncwala (Eastern Province), Lwiindi and Shimunenga (Southern Province), Lunda Lubanza (North Western), Likumbi Lyamize (North Western), Mbunda Lukwakwa (North Western Province), Chibwela Kumushi (Central Province), Vinkhakanimba (Muchinga Province), Ukusefya Pa Ng'wena (Northern Province). Popular traditional arts include pottery, basketry (such as Tonga baskets), stools, fabrics, mats, wooden carvings, ivory carvings, wire craft, and copper crafts. Most Music of Zambia, Zambian traditional music is based on drums (and other percussion instruments) with a lot of singing and dancing. In urban areas, foreign genres of music are popular, particularly Congolese Soukous, rumba, African-American music and Jamaican reggae.

Media

Freedoms of expression and of the press are constitutionally guaranteed in Zambia, but the government frequently restricts these rights in practice. Although the ruling Patriotic Front has pledged to free state-owned media—consisting of the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) and the widely circulated ''Zambia Daily Mail'' and ''Times of Zambia''—from government editorial control, these outlets have generally continued to report along pro-government lines. Many journalists reportedly practice self-censorship since most government newspapers do have prepublication review. The ZNBC dominates the broadcast media, though several private stations have the capacity to reach large portions of the population.

Sports and games

Sports and games are common social aspects of Zambian culture(s) that bring people together for learning, development of skills, fun and joyous moments. Sports and games in Zambia include but are not limited to football, athletics, netball, volleyball and indigenous games such as nsolo, chiyenga, waida, hide and seek, walyako, and sojo. These are some of the indigenous games that support socialisation. All these sports and games are part of the Zambian culture(s). The fact that the games are played by more than one person makes them social and edutainment events. The history of some of these games is as old as Zambians themselves. However, Zambia started taking part in popular global sports and games mainly in 1964 Summer olympics. Inauguration of Edgar Lungu

Zambia declared its independence on the day of the closing ceremony of the 1964 Summer Olympics, thereby becoming the first country ever to have entered an Olympic Games as one country and left it as another. In 2016, Zambia participated for the thirteenth time in the Olympic games. Two medals were won. The medals were won successively in boxing and on the track. In 1984 Keith Mwila won a bronze medal in the light flyweight. In 1996 Samuel Matete won a silver medal in the 400-metre hurdles. Zambia has never participated in the Winter Olympics. Association football, Football is the most popular sport in Zambia, and the Zambia national football team has had its triumphant moments in football history. At the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, the national team defeated the Italy national football team, Italian national team by a score of 4–0. Kalusha Bwalya, Zambia's most celebrated football player, scored a hat trick in that match. However, to this day, many pundits say the greatest team Zambia has ever assembled was the one that perished on 28 April 1993 in a 1993 Zambia national football team air disaster, plane crash at Libreville, Gabon. Despite this, in 1996, Zambia was ranked 15th on the official FIFA World Football Team rankings, the highest attained by any southern African team. In 2012, Zambia won the African Cup of Nations for the first time after losing in the final twice. They beat Côte d'Ivoire 8–7 in a penalty shoot-out in the final, which was played in Libreville, just a few kilometers away from the plane crash 19 years previously. The Zambia women's national football team made its FIFA Women's World Cup debut at 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, the 2023 tournament in Australia and New Zealand, the Zambia team being one of four representing the Confederation of African Football (CAF). They won their first FIFA Women's World Cup, Women's World Cup game in their first year, with Lushomo Mweemba scoring the fastest goal at the tournament, and Barbara Banda adding the 1,000th goal in WWC tournament history. Rugby Union, boxing and cricket are also popular sports in Zambia. Notably, at one point in the early 2000s, the Australia and South Africa national rugby teams were captained by players born in the same

hospital, George Gregan and Corné Krige. Until 2014, the Roan Antelope Rugby Club in Luanshya held the Guinness World Record for the tallest rugby union goal posts in the world at 110 ft, 6 inches high. This world record is now held by the Wednesbury Rugby Club. Rugby union in Zambia is a minor but growing sport. They are currently ranked 73rd by the International Rugby Board, IRB and have 3,650 registered players and three ''formally organised'' clubs.Zambia
International Rugby Board Zambia used to play cricket as part of Rhodesia. Zambia has also provided a shinty international, Zambian-born Eddie Tembo representing Scotland in the compromise rules Shinty/Hurling game against Ireland in 2008. In 2011, Zambia was due to host the 2011 All-Africa Games, tenth All-Africa Games, for which three stadiums were to be built in

, and Livingstone. The Lusaka stadium would have a capacity of 70,000 spectators while the other two stadiums would hold 50,000 people each. The government was encouraging the private sector to get involved in the construction of the sports facilities because of a shortage of public funds for the project. Zambia later withdrew its bid to host the 2011 All-Africa Games, citing a lack of funds. Hence, Mozambique took Zambia's place as host. Zambia also produced the first black African (Madalitso Muthiya) to play in the United States Golf Open, one of the four major golf tournaments. In 1989, the country's Zambia national basketball team, basketball team had its best performance when it qualified for the FIBA Africa Championship and thus finished as one of Africa's top ten teams. In 2017, Zambia hosted and won the Pan-African football tournament 2017 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations, U-20 African Cup of Nation for players age 20 and under.

Music and dance

Zambia's culture has been an integral part of their development post-independence such as the uprising of cultural villages and private museums. The music which introduced dance is part of their cultural expression and it embodies the beauty and spectacle of life in Zambia, from the intricacies of the talking drums to the ''Kamangu'' drum used to announce the beginning of ''Malaila'' traditional ceremony. Dance as a practice serves as a unifying factor bringing the people together as one.

Zamrock

Zamrock is a musical genre that emerged in the 1970s, and has developed a cult following in the West. Zamrock has been described as mixing traditional Zambian music with heavy repetitive riffs similar to groups such as Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, Black Sabbath, The Rolling Stones, Rolling Stones, Deep Purple, and Cream (band), Cream. Notable groups in the genre include Rikki Ililonga and his band Musi-O-Tunya, Witch (Zamrock band), WITCH, Chrissy "Zebby" Tembo, and Paul Ngozi and his Ngozi Family.WITCH
on Dusted Magazine (15 April 2010)

Notable people

Notes

References

External links

Official government website

Zambia
''The World Factbook''. Central Intelligence Agency.
Zambia Corruption Profile
from the Business Anti-Corruption Portal (archived 20 April 2014)
Zambia profile
from BBC News *
Key Development Forecasts for Zambia
from International Futures
World Bank Summary Trade Statistics Zambia

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