Flag description: green with a panel of three vertical bands
of red (hoist side), black, and orange below a soaring orange eagle,
on the outer edge of the flag
Location: Southern Africa, east of Angola
Geographic coordinates: 15 00 S, 30 00 E
Climate: tropical; modified by altitude; rainy season (October
to April)
Independence: 24 October 1964 (from UK)
Nationality: Zambian(s)
Capital City: Lusaka
Population: 9,582,418
Head of State: President Frederick CHILUBA
Area: 752,614 sq km
Type of Government: republic
Currency: 1 Zambian kwacha (ZK) = 100 ngwee
Major peoples: African 98.7%, European 1.1%, other 0.2%
Religion: Christian 50%-75%, Muslim and Hindu 24%-49%, indigenous
beliefs 1%
Official Language: English
Principal Languages: English, major vernaculars - Bemba, Kaonda,
Lozi, Lunda, Luvale, Nyanja, Tonga, and about 70 other indigenous languages
Major Exports: copper, cobalt, electricity, tobacco
History: In 1851, David Livingstone crossed the Zambezi River
from the south and spent the next 20 years exploring what is now Zambia.
In the late 19th century the British South Africa Company began making
treaties with the local chiefs in what was then known as Northern Rhodesia.
Following the 1924 British administrative takeover of the region and the
discovery of copper in the late 1920s, many Europeans immigrated to the
area.
In 1953, Northern Rhodesia, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), and Nyasaland
(now Malawi) were brought together by the British into the Federation of
Rhodesia and Nyasaland. This federation lasted until 1962, when Nyasaland
pulled out, followed by Northern Rhodesia in 1963. Independence for
Zambia followed on Oct. 24, 1964. Relations with Southern Rhodesia
became strained after the 1965 unilateral declaration of independence by
the white minority government, and Zambia's flow of goods through Rhodesia
was interrupted. Falling copper prices, a huge foreign debt, and
neglect of the agricultural sector meant that Zambia's economic problems
did not end when Rhodesia gained independence as Zimbabwe in 1980.
Kenneth D. KAUNDA, who had served as president since independence,
was praised abroad for his anti-apartheid stance. His popularity at home,
however, declined with the standard of living. Economic austerity
measures imposed at the insistence of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
led to riots in 1986 and 1990. Kuanda legalized multiple political
parties in December 1990, and multiparty elections--the first in nearly
20 years--were held in 1991. Kaunda was resoundingly defeated by
Frederick Chiluba, who became president on Nov. 2, 1991. Chiluba's Movement
for Multiparty Democracy captured 124 of 150 legislative seats.
