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Basic Facts |
Country name |
conventional long form: Republic of Zambia
conventional short form: Zambia former: Northern Rhodesia |
Gevernment type | republic |
Capital |
name: Lusaka
geographic coordinates: 15 25 S, 28 17 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
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 |
Currency | Zambian kwacha (ZMK) |
Internet country code | .zm |
Ports and terminals | Mpulungu |
Agriculture products | corn, sorghum, rice, peanuts, sunflower seed, vegetables, flowers, tobacco, cotton, sugarcane, cassava (tapioca), coffee; cattle, goats, pigs, poultry, milk, eggs, hides |
Industries | copper mining and processing, construction, foodstuffs, beverages, chemicals, textiles, fertilizer, horticulture |
Geography |
Location | Southern Africa, east of Angola |
Coordinates | 15 00 S, 30 00 E |
Continent | Africa |
Area |
total: 752,614 sq km
land: 740,724 sq km water: 11,890 sq km |
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) |
Climate | tropical; modified by altitude; rainy season (October to April) |
Terrain | mostly high plateau with some hills and mountains |
Natural resources | copper, cobalt, zinc, lead, coal, emeralds, gold, silver, uranium, hydropower |
Natural hazards | periodic drought, tropical storms (November to April) |
People |
Population | 11,502,010
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 2006 est.) |
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 |