Country Facts - Zambia

The People

Nationality

Zambian(s)

Ethnic Composition

African	98.7%
European	1.1%
Other	0.2%

Religious Composition

Christian	50%-75%
Muslim and Hindu	24%-49%
Indigenous beliefs	1%

Languages Spoken

English (official, government business conducted in English), major vernaculars --Bemba, Kaonda, Lozi, Lunda, Luvale, Nyanja, Tonga, and about 70 other indigenous languages.

Education and Literacy

Zambia's overall adult literacy is around 78.2 percent. Among males it is 85.6 percent and females 71.3 percent.

Labor Force

Total: 3.4 million

By occupation:

Agriculture	85%
Industry	6%
Services	9%

Geography

Land Mass Total

290,585 sq mi (

752,614 sq km)

Land

285,995 sq mi (740,724 sq km)

Water

4,590 sq mi (11,890 sq km)

Land Boundaries

Total: 3,519 mi (5,664 km)

Border countries: Angola 689 mi (1,110 km), Democratic Republic of the Congo 1,199 mi (1,930 km), Malawi 520 mi (837 km), Mozambique 260 mi (419 km), Namibia 144 mi (233 km), Tanzania 210 mi (338 km), Zimbabwe 495 mi (797 km)

Coastline

0 mi (0 km), landlocked

Maritime claim

None

Climate/Weather

Tropical; modified by altitude; rainy season (October to April).

Terrain

Mostly high plateau with some hills and mountains.

Elevation extremes

Lowest: Zambezi River 1,079 ft (329 m)
Highest: unnamed location in Mafinga Hills 7,549 ft (2,301 m)

Natural Resources

Copper, cobalt, zinc, lead, coal, emeralds, gold, silver, uranium, hydropower.

Land use

Arable land	7%
Permanent crops	0%
Other	93%

(1998)

Natural hazards

Tropical storms (November to April).

Environment - current issues

Air pollution and resulting acid rain in the mineral extraction and refining region; poaching seriously threatens rhinoceros and elephant populations; deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; lack of adequate water treatment presents human health risks.

Geography Note

Landlocked; the Zambezi forms a natural riverine boundary with Zimbabwe.

Demographics

Population

9,959,037 (July 2002)
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.

Age structure

0-14 years:	47.1%	Male: 2,357,581	Female: 2,335,644
15-64 years:	50.4%	Male: 2,497,360	Female: 2,519,227
65 years and over:	2.5%	Male: 106,160	Female: 143,065

(2002))

Growth Rate

1.9% (2002)

Life Expectancy

37.35 years (2002)
Female: 37.66 years
Male: 37.05 years

GDP Per Capita

Purchasing power parity
US$870 (2001)

Infant Mortality

89.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2002)

Sex ratio

At birth:	1.03 male(s)/female
Under 15 years:	1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years:	0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over:	0.74 male(s)/female
Total population:	0.99 male(s)/female

(2002)

Net migration rate

-0.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002)

Economy & Trade

Despite progress in privatization and budgetary reform, Zambia's economy has a long way to go. Privatization of government-owned copper mines relieved the government from covering mammoth losses generated by the industry and greatly improved the chances for copper mining to return to profitability and spur economic growth. However, low mineral prices have slowed the benefits from privatizing the mines and reduced incentives for further private investment in the sector. In late 2000, Zambia was determined to be eligible for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, but Zambia has not yet finalized its Poverty Reduction Strategy paper. Unemployment rates remain high, but GDP growth should continue at about 4 percent, although inflation will stay in the 18 to 20 percent range for the next three to five years..

Unemployment

50% (2000)

Inflation Rate

21.5% (2001)

Industries

Copper mining and processing, construction, foodstuffs, beverages, chemicals, textiles, fertilizer, horticulture

Exports

US$876 million (f.o.b., 2001)

Imports

US$12.05 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Total Trade

Purchasing power parity
GDP US$8.5 billion (2001)

Top Export Partners

UK 25.2%, South Africa 24.5%, Switzerland 9.4%, Malawi 7.5% (2000)

Top Import Partners

South Africa 67.1%, UK 9.8%, Zimbabwe 7.5%, US 5.9% (2000)

Top Exports

Copper 55%, cobalt, electricity, tobacco, flowers, cotton

Top Imports

Machinery, transportation equipment, petroleum products, electricity, fertilizer; foodstuffs, clothing

Debt - external

US$5.8 billion (2001)

Economic aid

US$651 million (2000)

Fiscal Year:

Calendar year

Business Workweek

	Monday - Friday	Saturday - Sunday
Offices	8a.m. to 1p.m. and again from 2p.m. to 5p.m.	Closed
Retail	8a.m. to 5p.m.	Saturday 8a.m. to 1p.m.
Banks	Monday to Wednesday, and Friday 8:15a.m. to 2:45p.m. Thursday 9a.m. to 11a.m.	Saturday 9a.m. to 11a.m.
Government	8a.m. to 1p.m. and again from 2p.m. to 5p.m.	Closed

Holidays

Official Holidays

Holidays	2003	2004	2005
New Year's Day	January 1	January 1	January 1
Youth Day	March 12	March 12	March 12
Good Friday	April 18	April 9	March 25
Easter¹	April 18	April 11	March 27
Easter Monday	April 18	April 12	March 28
Labor Day	May 1	May1	May 1
Africa Day	May 25	May 25	May 25
Heroes' Day²	July 7	July 5	July 4
Unity Day³	July 8	July 6	July 5
Farmers' Day*¹	August 4	August 2	August 1
Independence Day	October 24	October 24	October 24
Christmas Day*²	December 25	December 25	December 25

¹	Easter, a Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is the first Sunday after the full moon and the vernal equinox (fixed in the Gregorian calendar at March 21), and often observed with Good Friday and Easter Monday. In the West, Easter is predicted using the Gregorian calendar, while Eastern Orthodox Christians use the much older Julian calendar, and celebrate 13 days later.
²	First Monday in July.
³	First Tuesday in July.
*¹	First Monday in August.
*²	Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. In A.D.320, Pope Julius I fixed the date at December 25 based on the Gregorian calendar. The Orthodox Church calculates Christmas using the Julian calendar and celebrates 13 days later on January 7.

Country information used by permission of World Trade Press