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Zambia
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FactsBackground: The territory of Northern Rhodesia was administered by the [British] South Africa Company from 1891 until it was taken over by the UK in 1923. During the 1920s and 1930s, advances in mining spurred development and immigration. The name was changed to Zambia upon independence in 1964. In the 1980s and 1990s, declining copper prices, economic mismanagement and a prolonged drought hurt the economy. Elections in 1991 brought an end to one-party rule, but the subsequent vote in 1996 saw blatant harassment of opposition parties. The election in 2001 was marked by administrative problems with three parties filing a legal petition challenging the election of ruling party candidate Levy MWANAWASA. The new president launched an anticorruption investigation in 2002 to probe high-level corruption during the previous administration. In 2006-07, this task force successfully prosecuted four cases, including a landmark civil case in the UK in which former President CHILUBA and numerous others were found liable for more than USD 41 million. MWANAWASA was reelected in 2006 in an election that was deemed free and fair. Upon his abrupt death in August 2008, he was succeeded by his Vice President Rupiah BANDA, who subsequently won a special presidential by-election in October 2008. Under President Banda, the Task Force on Corruption was abolished, President Chiluba and his wife were acquitted in their criminal cases, and the government declined to register the UK civil verdict. note: data are in 2010 US dollars GDP (official exchange rate): $15.69 billion (2010 est.); GDP - real growth rate: 7% (2010 est.); 6.3% (2009 est.); 5.7% (2008 est.); GDP - per capita (PPP): $1,500 (2010 est.); $1,400 (2009 est.); $1,400 (2008 est.); note: data are in 2010 US dollars GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 19.7%; industry: 33.7%; services: 46.6% (2010 est.); Population below poverty line: 64% (1993); Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 1.2%; highest 10%: 38.8% (2004); Labor force: 5.524 million (2010 est.); Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 85%; industry: 6%; services: 9% (2004); Unemployment rate: 14% (2006 est.); 50% (2000 est.); Budget: revenues: $3.2 billion; expenditures: $3.743 billion (2010 est.); Industries: copper mining and processing, construction, foodstuffs, beverages, chemicals, textiles, fertilizer, horticulture; Industrial production growth rate: 12.1% (2010 est.); Electricity - production: 9.752 billion kWh (2007 est.); Electricity - consumption: 8.838 billion kWh (2007 est.); Electricity - exports: 268 million kWh (2007); Electricity - imports: 222 million kWh (2008 est.); Statistics: CIA World Factbook. PressPost, The(Independent), Lusaka Zambia Daily Mail(Government-owned), Lusaka Zambia in the News 1 2 Displaying 1 to 4 of 8 items. Zambia: I.M.F. Levy Proposal Rouses Ire of TaxpayersPresident Levy Mwanawasa urged his rivals to join him in fighting Zambia's deep-rooted poverty as he took office for a final term after disputed elections that sparked a wave of opposition riots. Africa Bites the Bullet on Genetically Modified Food AidThe debate over genetically modified food aid has put starving Africans in the center of a global trade dispute. Meron Tesfa Michael reviews the debate in the African press. Electoral StalemateZambia's presidential elections were marred by reports of irregularities on both sides. Dave Clemens reviews the Zambian press. Zambia: Justice, Not RevengeZambian reaction to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States |
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