| GEOGRAPHY |
| Country name: |
conventional long form: Republic of Zambia
conventional short form: Zambia
former: Northern Rhodesia |
| Capital: |
Lusaka |
| Location: |
Southern Africa, east of Angola |
| Geographic
Coordinates: |
15 00 S, 30 00 E |
| Area: |
total: 752,614 sq km
land: 740,724 sq km
water: 11,890 sq km |
| Area
Comparative: |
slightly larger than Texas |
| Land
Boundaries: |
total: 5,664 km
border countries: Angola 1,110 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 1,930 km, Malawi 837 km, Mozambique 419 km, Namibia 233 km, Tanzania 338 km, Zimbabwe 797 km |
| Coastline: |
0 km (landlocked) |
| Maritime
Claims: |
none (landlocked) |
| Climate: |
tropical; modified by altitude; rainy season (October to April) |
| Terrain: |
mostly high plateau with some hills and mountains |
| Elavation
Extremes: |
lowest point: Zambezi river 329 m
highest point: unnamed location in Mafinga Hills 2,301 m |
| Natural
Resources: |
copper, cobalt, zinc, lead, coal, emeralds, gold, silver, uranium, hydropower |
| GOVERNEMENT |
| Governement
Type: |
republic |
| Administratives
Divisions: |
9 provinces; Central, Copperbelt, Eastern, Luapula, Lusaka, Northern, North-Western, Southern, Western |
| Independence |
24 October 1964 (from UK) |
| National
Holiday: |
Independence Day, 24 October (1964) |
| Constitution: |
24 August 1991 |
| Legal
System; |
based on English common law and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in an ad hoc constitutional council; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Suffrage |
18 years of age; universal |
| Executive
Branch: |
chief of state: President Levy MWANAWASA (since 2 January 2002); Vice President Lupando MWAPE (since 4 October 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Levy MWANAWASA (since 2 January 2002); Vice President Lupando MWAPE (since 4 October 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of the National Assembly
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 27 December 2001 (next to be held December 2006); vice president appointed by the president
election results: Levy MWANAWASA elected president; percent of vote - Levy MWANAWASA 29%, Anderson MAZOKA 27%, Christon TEMBO 13%, Tilyenji KAUNDA 10%, Godfrey MIYANDA 8%, Benjamin MWILA 5%, Michael SATA 3%, other 5% |
| Legislative
Branch: |
unicameral National Assembly (150 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 27 December 2001 (next to be held December 2006)
election results: percent of vote by party - MMD 45.9%, UPND 32.4%, UNIP 8.8%, FDD 8.1%, HP 2.7%, PF 0.7%, ZRP 0.7%, independents 0.7%; seats by party - MMD 68, UPND 48, UNIP 13, FDD 12, HP 4, PF 1, ZRP 1, independents 1; seats not determined 2 |
| Judicial
Branch: |
Supreme Court (the final court of appeal; justices are appointed by the president); High Court (has unlimited jurisdiction to hear civil and criminal cases) |
| Political
parties and Leaders: |
Agenda for Zambia or AZ [Inonge MBIKUSITA-LEWANIKA]; Forum for Democracy and Development or FDD [Christon TEMBO]; Heritage Party or HP [Godfrey MIYANDA]; Liberal Progressive Front or LPF [Roger CHONGWE, president]; Movement for Multiparty Democracy or MMD [Levy MWANAWASA, acting president]; National Leadership for Development or NLD [Yobert SHAMAPANDE]; National Party or NP [Dr. Sam CHIPUNGU]; Patriotic Front or PF [Michael SATA]; Zambian Republican Party or ZRP [Benjamin MWILA]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Gwendoline KONIE]; United National Independence Party or UNIP [Francis NKHOMA, president]; United Party for National Development or UPND [Anderson MAZOKA] |
| PEOPLE |
| Population: |
11,261,795
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2005 est.) |
| Age structure: |
0-14 years: 46.5% (male 2,626,911/female 2,609,857)
15-64 years: 51.1% (male 2,848,402/female 2,904,376)
65 years and over: 2.4% (male 118,043/female 154,206) (2005 est.) |
| Median age: |
total: 16.46 years
male: 16.26 years
female: 16.67 years (2005 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun: Zambian(s)
adjective: Zambian |
| Ethnic groups: |
African 98.7%, European 1.1%, other 0.2% |
| Religions: |
Christian 50%-75%, Muslim and Hindu 24%-49%, indigenous beliefs 1% |
| Languages: |
English (official), major vernaculars - Bemba, Kaonda, Lozi, Lunda, Luvale, Nyanja, Tonga, and about 70 other indigenous languages |
| COMUNICATIONS |
| Telephones - main
lines in use: |
88,400 (2003) |
| Telephones - mobile
cellular: |
241,000 (2003) |
| Telephone system: |
general assessment: facilities are aging but still among the best in Sub-Saharan Africa
domestic: high-capacity microwave radio relay connects most larger towns and cities; several cellular telephone services in operation; Internet service is widely available; very small aperture terminal (VSAT) networks are operated by private firms
international: country code - 260; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean) |
| Radio broadcast
stations: |
AM 19, FM 5, shortwave 4 (2001) |
| Television broadcast
stations: |
9 (2002) |
| Internet country
code: |
.zm |
| Internet hosts: |
1,880 (2003) |
| Internet users: |
68,200 (2003) |
| TRANSPORT |
| Railways: |
total: 2,173 km
narrow gauge: 2,173 km 1.067-m gauge
note: includes 891 km of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) (2003) |
| Highways: |
total: 91,440 km
paved: 20,117 km
unpaved: 71,323 km (2001) |
| Waterways: |
2,250 km
note: includes Lake Tanganyika and the Zambezi and Luapula rivers (2003) |
| Pipelines: |
oil 771 km (2004) |
| Ports and harbors: |
Mpulungu |
| Merchant marine: |
|
| Airports: |
109 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
paved runways: |
total: 10
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
unpaved runways: |
total: 99
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 62
under 914 m: 32 (2004 est.) |
| Heliports: |
|
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