The territory of Northern Rhodesia was administered by the 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 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 a far-reaching anti-corruption campaign in 2002, which resulted in the 2003 arrest of the previous president Frederick CHILUBA and many of his supporters. Opposition parties currently hold a majority of seats in the National Assembly.

copper, cobalt, zinc, lead, coal, emeralds, gold, silver, uranium, hydropower

arable land: 7.08%
permanent crops: 0.03%
other: 92.89% (1998 est.)

10,307,333
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 2003 est.)

African 98.7%, European 1.1%, other 0.2%

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

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

definition: age 15 and over can read and write English
total population: 80.6%
male: 86.8%
female: 74.8% (2003 est.)

Lusaka

republic

24 October 1964 (from UK)

Independence Day, 24 October (1964)