Zambia (IPA: [ˈzæmbɪə]), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It borders the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west. Formerly Northern Rhodesia, the country's name reflects the Zambezi river.

History
In the 1st century, technologically-advanced migrating tribes began to displace or absorb the indigenous Khoisan hunter-gatherer occupants. In the 12th century, major waves of Bantu-speaking immigrants arrived during the Bantu expansion. Among them, the Tonga people (also called Batonga) were first to settle in Zambia and are believed to have come from the far east near the "big sea." The Nkoya people had also come early in the expansion, with some suggesting that they were the first of the expansion into today's Zambia, having come from the Luba-Lunda kingdoms in the north.
In the late 17th and early 19th centuries, other groups followed with the greatest influx coming between . These later migrants also came primarily from the Luba-Lunda tribes of southern Democratic Republic of Congo and northern Angola but in the 19th century the Ngoni peoples from the south joined them. By the later part of the 19th century, most of the various peoples of Zambia were largely established in the areas they currently occupy. In the early 18th century, the (Nsokolo People) under the leadership of Joe Nsokolo Chupa, also known as Elvin, settled in Mbala district in Northern province .

European colonial era
A two-stage election held in October and December 1962 resulted in an African majority in the legislative council and an uneasy coalition between the two African nationalist parties. The council passed resolutions calling for Northern Rhodesia's secession from the federation and demanding full internal self-government under a new constitution and a new National Assembly based on a broader, more democratic franchise. Led by Kenneth Kaunda, on 31 December 1963, the federation was dissolved, and Northern Rhodesia became the Republic of Zambia on 24 October 1964. At that time, Kaunda became the country's first president.
At independence, despite its considerable mineral wealth, Zambia faced major challenges. Domestically, there were few trained and educated Zambians capable of running the government, and the economy was largely dependent on foreign expertise. Abroad, three of its neighbours – Southern Rhodesia and the Portuguese colonies of Mozambique and Angola – remained under white-dominated rule. Southern Rhodesia's white-ruled government unilaterally declared independence in November, 1965. In addition, Zambia shared a border with South African-controlled South-West Africa (now Namibia).

Independence
Zambia's sympathies lay with forces opposing colonial or white-dominated rule, particularly in Southern Rhodesia. During the next decade, it actively supported movements such as the National Union for Total Independence of Angola (UNITA); the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU); the African National Congress of South Africa (ANC); and the South-West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO).
Conflicts with Rhodesia (so renamed from Southern Rhodesia) resulted in the closing of Zambia's borders with that country and severe problems with international transport and power supply. However, the Kariba hydroelectric station on the Zambezi River provided sufficient capacity to satisfy the country's requirements for electricity (despite the fact that the hydro control centre was on the Rhodesian side of the border). A railway to the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam, built with Chinese assistance, reduced Zambian dependence on railway lines south to South Africa and west through an increasingly troubled Angola. Until the completion of the railway, however, Zambia's major artery for imports and the critical export of copper was along the TanZam Road, running from Zambia to the port cities in Tanzania. Also a pipeline for oil was built from Dar-es-Salaam to Ndola in Zambia.
By the late 1970s, Mozambique and Angola had attained independence from Portugal. Zimbabwe achieved independence in accordance with the 1979 Lancaster House Agreement, however Zambia's problems were not solved. Civil war in the former Portuguese colonies generated an influx of refugees and caused continuing transportation problems. The Benguela railway, which extended west through Angola, was essentially closed to traffic from Zambia by the late 1970s. Zambia's strong support for the ANC, which had its external headquarters in Lusaka, created security problems as South Africa raided ANC targets in Zambia.
In the mid-1970s, the price of copper, Zambia's principal export, suffered a severe decline worldwide. In Zambia's situation, the cost of transporting the copper great distances to market was an additional strain. Zambia turned to foreign and international lenders for relief, but, as copper prices remained depressed, it became increasingly difficult to service its growing debt. By the mid-1990s, despite limited debt relief, Zambia's per capita foreign debt remained among the highest in the world.

Post-Independence

Main article: Politics of Zambia Politics

Main articles: Provinces of Zambia and Districts of Zambia Administrative divisions
The official language is English, used to conduct official business and is the medium of instruction in schools. Commonly-spoken indigenous languages include the 7 major languages: Chibemba, Chinyanja, Lunda, Chitonga, Kaonde, Silozi and Luvale. These 7 languages are taught in schools and broadcast on national radio and television. The Ethnologue report on Zambia lists 42 languages and many more dialects spoken in Zambia. A Zambian languages website lists 78 languages. Some of the difference may be attributed to dialects in the Ethnologue list being counted as languages in the second list.
A number of the indigenous languages have altered quite dramatically during the process of urbanisation, Zambia being one of the most urbanised countries in Africa. Languages have assimilated words from other indigenous languages and English to such an extent that urban dwellers will often differentiate between the urban and rural dialects of the same language by prefixing the rural languages with 'deep'. E.g. a Bemba speaker might say "I don't know that word it is deep Bemba."

Languages

Main articles: Education in Zambia and List of schools in Zambia Education
Schooling usually falls into three levels: Primary (years 1 to 7), Junior Secondary (years 8 to 9) and Upper Secondary (years 10 to 12). So-called "basic schools" teach years 1 to 9, as year 9 is considered to be a decent level of schooling for the majority of children; however, schooling is only free up to year 7, and Unesco estimated that 80% of children of primary school age in 2002 were enrolled. Most children drop out after year 7 when fees are payable.
Both government and private schools exist in Zambia. The private school system began largely as a result of Christian mission efforts during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Amongst famous private schools are the Roman Catholic run St Mary's Seminary located in the Msupadzi area, south of Chipata, Eastern Province and Simba International School close to Ndola, Copperbelt Province. Private schools operate under either the British or American way of schooling, but also offer curricula approved by the Examinations Council of Zambia.

Lower education
Educational opportunities beyond secondary school are limited in Zambia. After secondary school, most students study at the various colleges, around the country.
There are two main universities: University of Zambia (UNZA) and Copperbelt University (CBU). They normally select or invite the brightest students to pursue courses there and competition to get in is very tight. The introduction of fees in the late 1990s has made the pursuing of an university level eductaion quite hard for some, although bursaries do exist from the state. In the late 1970s Copperbelt University (CBU) opened on the copperbelt, taking over most of what previously was the Zambia Institute of Technology (ZIT) site in Kitwe.
Other places of learning include NIPA (Public Administrations College), NORTEC (Northern Technical College), NRDC (National Resources Development College),Evelyn Hone College, ZIBSIP, ZCAS, ZAMIM etc.
Several teacher training colleges offer two-year programmes beyond high school, missionary hospitals dotted around the country offer high quality training of an internationally acceptable standard to nurses and several Christian schools offer seminary-level training.

University of Zambia
Copperbelt University Higher education

Main article: Geography of Zambia Geography
In the Zambezi River basin, there are four major rivers that either run through Zambia or form the country's borders: the Kafue, the Luangwa, the Kwando and the Zambezi. The last three form part of Zambia's southern borders. The Kwando River forms Zambia's south-western border with Angola, then it runs easterly along the northern boundary of Namibia's Caprivi Strip before spreading into the Linyanti Marshes, which finally drain eastwardly into the Zambezi. From its confluence with the Kwando, the Zambezi flows east, forming the whole of Zambia's border with Zimbabwe.
The other two rivers, the Kafue and the Luangwa, lie entirely within Zambia and are major tributaries of the Zambezi. Their confluences with the Zambezi are on Zambia's Zimbabwean border at Chirundu and Luangwa town respectively. Before its confluence, the Luangwa River forms part of Zambia's border with Mozambique. From Luangwa town, the Zambezi leaves Zambia and flows into Mozambique, and eventually into the Indian Ocean's Mozambique Channel.
The Zambezi falls 100 m (360 feet) over the 1.6 km (1mile) wide Victoria Falls, located in the south-western corner of the country, subsequently flowing into Lake Kariba.
The Zambezi Valley, running along the southern border, is both deep and wide. Moving northwards the terrain shifts into a high plateau of 900 to 1,200 m (3000 to 4000 ft) to over 1,800 m (6000 ft) in the northern area of the Copperbelt. In the east, the Luangwa Valley curves southwards with hills on either side until it enters the Zambezi. In the west, large plains are a key geographic feature, flooding the western plains during the annual rainy season (typically October to April).

Zambezi River basin
Zambia hosts two major rivers from the Congo River basin: the Chambeshi and the Luapula. The latter forms part of Zambia's border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Chambeshi lies entirely within Zambia and is the furthest headstream of the Congo River. It flows into the Bangweulu Swamps, which provide the waters that form the Luapula River. The Luapula flows south then west before it turns north until it enters Lake Mweru. The lake's other major tributary is the Kalungwishi River, which flows into it from the east. The Luvua River drains Lake Mweru, flowing out of the northern end.
Lake Tanganyika is the other major hydrographic feature that belongs to the Congo River basin. Its south-eastern end receives water from the Kalambo River, which forms part of Zambia's border with Tanzania. This river has Africa's second highest uninterrupted waterfall, the Kalambo Falls. (The continent's highest waterfalls is the Tugela Falls in South Africa.)

Congo River basin

Main article: Economy of Zambia Economy

Main article: Demographics of Zambia Demographics and ethnicity
See also: History of Church activities in Zambia

Religion
Zambia's constitution identifies the country as a Christian nation, but a variety of religious traditions exist. Traditional religious thought blends easily with Christian beliefs in many of the country's syncretic churches. Islam also has a visible presence especially in urban settings.
Within the Christian community, a variety of denominations can be found: Roman Catholic, Anglican, Pentecostal, New Apostolic Church, Lutheran, Seventh-day Adventist, Jehovah's Witness and a variety of Evangelical denominations. These grew, adjusted and prospered from the original missionary settlements (Portuguese and Catholicism in the east from Mozambique) and Anglican (English and Scottish influences) from the south. Except for some technical positions (e.g. physicians), western missionary roles have been assumed by native believers. After Frederick Chiluba (a Pentecostal Christian) became President in 1991, Pentecostal congregations sprouted around the country. Further information on the growth of Christianity can be found at the History of Church activities in Zambia
Zambian-born Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo was a high-ranking Bishop at the Vatican until he left to marry Maria Sung, a 43-year-old Korean acupuncturist, at a ceremony officiated by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon in New York (May, 2001). He was ex-communicated by the Roman Catholic Church in September, 2006 for conducting a consecration of 4 married men as bishops.

Christianity
Islam in Zambia constitutes about 5% of the population. run by the Baha'i community is particularly active in areas such as literacy and primary health care.

Art and Culture

List of Zambia-related topics
List of Zambians
List of national parks of Zambia
History of Zambia
Monuments and Historic Sites of Zambia
Communications in Zambia
History of Church activities in Zambia
Transport in Zambia
Foreign relations of Zambia
Military of Zambia
Zambia Scouts Association
Zambia Medical Mission
Project Zambia

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