Zambia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Republic of Zambia
Flag Coat of arms
Motto:  "One Zambia, One Nation"
Anthem: "Stand and Sing of Zambia, Proud and Free"
Capital and largest city	Lusaka 15°25′S 28°17′E / 15.417°S 28.283°E / -15.417; 28.283
Official languages	English
Recognised regional languages	List 33.5% Bemba 14.8% Nyanja 11.4% Tonga 5.5% Lozi 4.5% Chewa 3.0% Nsenga 2.6% Tumbuka 1.9% Lunda 1.9% Kaonde 1.8% Lala 1.8% Lamba 1.7% English 1.5% Luvale 1.3% Mambwe 1.2% Lenje 1.2% Namwanga 1.0% Bisa 0.9% Ushi 0.7% Ila 0.7% Mbunda 0.7% Ngoni 0.7% Senga 0.6% Lungu 0.5% Toka-Leya 4.7% Others
Ethnic groups (2010)	List 21.0% Bemba 13.6% Tonga 7.4% Chewa 5.7% Lozi 5.3% Nsenga 4.4% Tumbuka 4.0% Ngoni 3.1% Lala 2.9% Kaonde 2.8% Namwanga 2.6% Lunda (Northern) 2.5% Mambwe 2.2% Luvale 2.1% Lamba 1.9% Ushi 1.6% Bisa 1.6% Lenje 1.2% Mbunda 0.9% Lunda (Luapula) 0.9% Senga 0.8% Ila 0.8% Lungu 0.7% Tabwa 0.7% Soli 0.7% Kunda 0.6% Ngumbo 0.5% Chishinga 0.5% Chokwe 0.5% Nkoya 5.4% Other ethnics 0.8% Major racial 0.4% Unclassified
Religion (2010)	95.5% Christianity –75.3% Protestantism –20.2% Other Christian 2.7% Others 1.8% No religion
Demonym(s)	Zambian
Government	Unitary presidential constitutional republic
• President	Edgar Lungu
• Vice President	Inonge Wina
Legislature	National Assembly
Independence  from the United Kingdom
History
• North-Western Rhodesia	27 June 1890
• Barotziland-North-Western Rhodesia	28 November 1899
• North-Eastern Rhodesia	29 January 1900
• Amalgamation of Northern Rhodesia	17 August 1911
• Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland	1 August 1953
• Republic of Zambia	24 October 1964
• Current constitution	5 January 2016
• Established	1964
Area
• Total	752,618 km2 (290,587 sq mi) (38th)
• Water (%)	1
Population
• 2018 estimate	17,351,708 (65th)
• 2010 census	13,092,666
• Density	17.2/km2 (44.5/sq mi) (191st)
GDP (PPP)	2019 estimate
• Total	$75.857 billion
• Per capita	$4,148
GDP (nominal)	2019 estimate
• Total	$23.946 billion
• Per capita	$1,307
Gini (2015)	57.1 high
HDI (2019)	0.584 medium · 146th
Currency	Zambian kwacha (ZMW)
Time zone	UTC+2 (CAT)
Driving side	left
Calling code	+260
ISO 3166 code	ZM
Internet TLD	.zm

The flag of Zambia

The Republic of Zambia is a country in southern Africa. It shares its borders with the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west. It was called Northern Rhodesia and it is currently named after the Zambezi River. Zambia is a undiscovered tourist hub home to one of the seven natural wonders of the world. The might Victoria falls. Zambia is a melting pot of culture and diversity yet to be appreciated with at least 72 spoken languages.

The capital of Zambia is Lusaka, which is also the largest city in the country. Edgar Lungu is the current president. Its motto is One Zambia, One Nation and its national anthem is Stand and Sing of Zambia, Proud and Free. Its official language is English.

History

Zambia originated from Northern Rhodesia which was a colony of Great Britain. In 1964 Zambia became an independent country. The first president was Kenneth Kaunda, who ruled Zambia for 27 years with his party UNIP. Zambia was a one party democracy. UNIP was the only legal party and all other parties were banned.

After protests, democratic elections were held in 1991. Kenneth Kaunda lost the elections and gave away his power in an orderly manner to his successor Frederick Chiluba, a former union leader.

Zambia is now a multi-party democracy. It has had three democratic elections since 1991. The latest presidential election was in 2016, which was won by edger lungu against hakahende hichilema.

Geography

Zambia map of Köppen climate classification.

Zambia is a landlocked country in southern Africa, with a tropical climate, and consists mostly of high plateaus with some hills and mountains, dissected by river valleys. At 752,614 km² (290,586 sq mi) 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/Kafue basin in the center, west, and south covering about three-quarters of the country; and the 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, Lungwebungu, Kafue, 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.

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 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 100 metres (328 ft) over the 1.6-kilometre-wide (1-mile) 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.

Victoria Falls

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 900 m (2,953 ft) in the south to 1,200 m (3,937 ft) in the centre, reaching 1,800 m (5,906 ft) 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 (2,200 m or 7,218 ft) on the Malawi border, which extend into Zambia as the Mafinga Hills, containing the country's highest point, Mafinga Central (2,339 m or 7,674 ft).

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 1,700 m (5,577 ft). Their culminating peak Mumpu is at the western end and at 1,892 m (6,207 ft) 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 and then, after the Bangweulu Swamps as the Luapula, which forms part of the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Luapula flows south then west before it turns north until it enters Lake Mweru. 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 Kalambo Falls.

Climate

Zambia is located on the plateau of Central Africa, between 1,000 and 1,600 metres (3,300 and 5,200 ft) above sea level. The average elevation of 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) 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, 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 20 °C (68 °F) over most of the country for eight or more months of the year.

Biodiversity

The official national animal of Zambia is the African fish eagle.

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 and 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 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.

The country had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 7.5/10, ranking it 39th globally out of 172 countries.

Politics

Zambia National Assembly building in Lusaka

Politics in Zambia takes place in a framework of a presidential 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.

Administrative divisions

Zambia is administratively divided into ten provinces subdivided into 117 districts, and electorally into 156 constituencies and 1,281 wards.

Provinces

1. Central Province
2. Copperbelt
3. Eastern Province
4. Luapula
5. Lusaka
6. Muchinga
7. North-Western Province
8. Northern Province
9. Southern Province
10. Western Province

Demographics

As of the 2022 Zambian census, Zambia's population was 19,610,769.

The Mwata Kazembe opens the Mutomboko ceremony

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 as of 2007^[update] (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.

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% Protestant and 20.2% Roman Catholic.

Approximately 2.7% of Zambians are Muslim, primarily Sunni with smaller numbers of Ismaili and Twelver Shia. The Muslim community, which numbers 100,000 according to one estimate, includes both refugees from the Congo and Somalia, as well as immigrants from South Asia and the Middle East who have become Zambian citizenship. Hindus, primarily of South Asian ancestry, numbered approximately 10,000 as of 2019. At its peak in the 1960s, a small Jewish community in Zambia numbered about 1,000, mostly with origins in Lithuania, Latvia, and Germany; today, there are 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

Density map of dominant regional languages

     Bemba      Chewa      Lozi      Lunda      Nyanja      Tonga

The exact number of Zambian languages is unknown, but most linguists agree that the number is probably somewhere between 20 and 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. 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, Tumbuka, Kaonde, Tonga, Lunda and Luvale, which featured on the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) local-languages section.

Education

Pupils at the St Monica's Girls Secondary School in Chipata, Eastern Province

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%.

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%. Unemployment and underemployment in urban areas are serious problems. Most rural Zambians are subsistence farmers.

Zambia fell into poverty after international copper prices declined in the 1970s.

GDP per capita (current), compared to neighbouring countries (world average = 100)

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 program 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 Erdogan and Zambia's President Edgar Lungu signed 12 agreements in capital Lusaka on areas ranging from trade and investment to tourism and diplomacy.

Mining

The major Nkana open copper mine, Kitwe.

Mining and quarrying accounted for approximately 13.2% of the Zambian GDP in 2019. The Zambian economy has historically been based on the copper mining industry. The industry was nationalized in 1973; under government control, production declined substantially.

In addition to copper, major minerals mined in Zambia include gold (Kansanshi mine), manganese (Serenje mine), and 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 Zimbabwean farmers were welcomed into Zambia after their expulsion by Robert Mugabe, whose numbers had reached roughly 150 to 300 people as of 2004^[update]. 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.

Tourism

Victoria Falls (Mosi-oa-Tunya Falls) a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Tourism comprised 5.8% of the Zambian GDP in 2021; the record high, of 9.8%, occurred in 2019. Most tourism focused on wildlife protected areas, specifically Zambia's 20 national parks and 34 game management areas. The most significant tourist site, the Victoria Falls, 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 Zimbabwe. Livingstone, which lies close to Victoria Falls, has become an important tourist center. Other popular national parks include North Luangwa, South Luangwa, Kafue, and 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, early 2015^[update], 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

Nsima (top right corner) with three types of relish.

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".

A Yombe sculpture, 19th century.

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), Mutomboko (Luapula Province), 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 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 rumba, African-American music and Jamaican reggae.

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.

National Heroes Stadium in Lusaka.

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.

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 Italian national team by a score of 4–0. Kalusha Bwalya, Zambia's most celebrated football player, and one of Africa's greatest football players in history 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 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 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 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 Lusaka 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 IRB and have 3,650 registered players and three formally organised clubs. 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 tenth All-Africa Games, for which three stadiums were to be built in Lusaka, Ndola, 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 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 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, Rolling Stones, Deep Purple, and Cream. Notable groups in the genre include Rikki Ililonga and his band Musi-O-Tunya, WITCH, Chrissy "Zebby" Tembo, and Paul Ngozi and his Ngozi Family.

Notable people

Related pages

• List of rivers of Zambia
• Zambia at the Olympics
• Zambia national football team

Notes

Images for kids

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  Skull of Broken Hill Man discovered in present-day Kabwe.

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  Ancient (but graffitied) Rock Art in Nsalu Cave, Kasanka National Park in North-Central Zambia.

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  Ila Headman's son in Southern Zambia, Cattle formed an important part of their society.

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  Three young Ngoni chiefs. The Ngoni made their way into Eastern Zambia from KwaZulu in South Africa. They eventually assimilated into the local ethic groups.

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  An 1864 portrait of Scottish explorer and missionary David Livingstone.

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  Cecil Rhodes

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  Kenneth Kaunda, first Republican president, on a state visit to Romania in 1970

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  The geopolitical situation during the Rhodesian Bush War in 1965 – countries friendly to the nationalists are coloured orange.

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  Zambia National Assembly building in Lusaka

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  President Edgar Lungu with Russian President Vladimir Putin, 26 July 2018

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  Victoria Falls

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  Tribal and linguistic map of Zambia

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  Zambia Export Treemap (2014)

See also

In Spanish: Zambia para niños