Zambia

Facts

Background: 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.
Location: Southern Africa, east of Angola, south of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Area land: 743,398 sq km
Area water: 9,220 sq km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Country name conventional long form: Republic of Zambia
Country name conventional short form: Zambia
Country name former: Northern Rhodesia
Population: 13,881,336
Age structure: 0-14 years: 46.7% (male 3,253,125/female 3,228,844); 15-64 years: 50.8% (male 3,544,640/female 3,508,344); 65 years and over: 2.5% (male 148,531/female 197,852) (2011 est.);
Population growth rate: 3.062% (2011 est.)
Birth rate: 44.08 births/1,000 population (2011 est.)
Death rate: 12.61 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.84 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female; under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female; 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female; 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female; total population: 1 male(s)/female (2011 est.);
Infant mortality rate: total: 66.6 deaths/1,000 live births; male: 71.27 deaths/1,000 live births; female: 61.78 deaths/1,000 live births (2011 est.);
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 52.36 years; male: 51.13 years; female: 53.63 years (2011 est.);
Total fertility rate: 5.98 children born/woman (2011 est.);
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 13.5% (2009 est.);
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 980,000 (2009 est.);
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 45,000 (2009 est.);
Nationality: noun: Zambian(s); adjective: Zambian;
Ethnic groups: African 99.5% (includes Bemba, Tonga, Chewa, Lozi, Nsenga, Tumbuka, Ngoni, Lala, Kaonde, Lunda, and other African groups), other 0.5% (includes Europeans, Asians, and Americans) (2000 Census);
Religions: Christian 50%-75%, Muslim and Hindu 24%-49%, indigenous beliefs 1%;
Languages: Bemba 30.1% (official), Nyanja 10.7% (official), Tonga 10.6% (official), Lozi 5.7% (official), Chewa 4.9%, Nsenga 3.4%, Tumbuka 2.5%, Lunda 2.2% (official), Kaonde 2% (official), Lala 2%, Luvale 1.7% (official), English 1.7% (official), other 22.5% (2000 Census);
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write English; total population: 80.6%; male: 86.8%; female: 74.8% (2003 est.);
GDP (purchasing power parity): $20.03 billion (2010 est.); $18.72 billion (2009 est.); $17.61 billion (2008 est.);

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.);
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.

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