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Zambia Education
Education
 School
attendance has increased substantially since Zambia's
independence in 1964. In the mid-1980s about 1.4 million pupils
were enrolled in primary schools and 150,300 in secondary
schools. Vocational and teacher-training schools had 9700
pupils. The University of Zambia (1965), at Lusaka, has about
4600 students.
The Livingstone Museum, at Livingstone, has a collection
relating to the archaeology and natural history of southern
Africa. The Institute for African Studies of the University of
Zambia publishes studies relating to central Africa.
 Zambia,
republic, south central Africa, bounded on the north by Zaire
and Tanzania; on the east by Malawi; on the southeast by
Mozambique; on the south by Zimbabwe, Botswana, and the Caprivi
Strip of Namibia; and on the west by Angola. The area is 752,614
sq km (290,586 sq mi).
Land and Resources
Most of Zambia is high plateau with a flat or gently undulating
terrain. Elevations average between about 1070 and 1370 m (about
3500 and 4500 ft). Mountains in the northeast exceed 2134 m
(7000 ft). Major rivers are the Zambezi and its tributaries, the
Kafue and the Luangwa, in the south and west; and the Luapula
and Chambezi, in the north. Lake Bangweulu, in the north, is
surrounded by a vast swampy region. Lake Kariba is a large
reservoir formed by Kariba Dam on the Zambezi River.
Climate
Although lying within the Tropic Zone, much of Zambia enjoys a
pleasant subtropical climate because of the high altitude. The
average temperature during July, the coldest month of the year,
is 17.2° C (63° F); the hottest month, January, has an average
temperature of 21.7° C (71° F). Annual rainfall ranges from 762
mm (30 in) in the south to 1397 mm (55 in) in the north. Nearly
all of the rain falls between November and April.
Natural Resources
Most of the country has savanna-type vegetation—grasslands
interspersed with trees. Teak forests are in the southwest.
Animals include the elephant, lion, rhinoceros, and several
varieties of antelope. Of overwhelming importance are the rich
mineral veins of the country's copper belt. The belt extends
down into Zambia from southern Zaire and contains major deposits
of copper, cobalt, and other minerals. Zambia also has
substantial hydroelectric potential. The Kariba Dam on the
Zambezi River is the country's main power source. Zambia shares
the Kariba system with Zimbabwe. Other stations on the Lunsemfwa
and Mulungushi rivers serve Kabwe. Installations have also been
built on the Kafue River. In the late 1980s the total installed
electricity-generating capacity was about 2.4 million kw. The
yearly output was some 8.5 billion kwh, about 99 percent
produced by hydroelectric plants.
Population
Zambia's population, predominantly rural, is made up of more
than 70 Bantu-speaking ethnic groups, including the Bemba, Lozi,
and Tonga.
Population Characteristics
The population (preliminary 1980) was 5,679,808; the 1993
estimate was 8,926,099. The overall population density in 1989
was 12 people per sq km (31 per sq mi); much of the northeast
and west is sparsely inhabited.
Political Divisions and Principal Cities
Zambia is divided into nine provinces, each administered by a
central government official. Lusaka, the capital, had a
population (1988 estimate) of 870,000. Other major centers are
Kitwe (472,300), Luanshya (165,900), Mufulira (199,400), and
Ndola (442,700), all in the copper belt.
Religion and Language
At least half of the people of Zambia are Christian, mainly
Roman Catholics and adherents of the United Church of Zambia, a
Protestant denomination. Most of the remainder follow
traditional religions. More than 70 African languages are
spoken, the most important being Bemba, Lozi, Luvale, Tonga, and
Nyanja. The official language is English.
Economy
The wealth of Zambia is based largely on mining in the rich
copper belt, and downturns in copper prices have severely
damaging economic consequences. Some processing and
manufacturing has been started since independence, and during
the 1970s attempts were made to diversify agriculture and to
make the country self-sufficient in food. In the late 1980s the
estimated annual national budget showed about $540 million in
revenue and $787 million in expenditure.
Agriculture
About two-thirds of Zambia's working population is engaged in
agriculture, largely subsistence farming. Principal crops in the
late 1980s (with annual output in metric tons) included corn,
the staple food, 1.5 million; sugarcane, 1.3 million; fruits,
vegetables, and melons, 355,000; and cassava, 240,000. Sunflower
seeds, peanuts, sweet potatoes, and tobacco are also grown. Beef
and dairy cattle are raised for domestic use. Because of
recurrent drought and inadequate planning, annual food
production is insufficient to meet domestic needs.
Mining
The copper mines of Zambia are among the richest in the world.
Copper prices dropped to less than one-third their 1975 value in
the mid-1980s but rebounded later in the decade; annual output
in the late 1980s averaged approximately 422,200 metric tons.
Lead, zinc, gold, cobalt, coal, and tin are also mined. Zambia
is a major world supplier of both copper and cobalt; the two
minerals normally earn at least 85 percent of the country's
yearly foreign exchange.
Manufacturing
Chief manufactured items include food products, chemicals,
clothing and shoes, tobacco products, refined petroleum, and
cement. Grain milling and the smelting and refining of copper
and other metals are also important.
Currency and Banking
The decimal system of currency, issued in 1968, is based on the
kwacha, consisting of 100 ngwee (652.687 kwachas equal U.S.$1;
1993). The country's central bank is the Bank of Zambia (1964);
other financial institutions include the Development Bank of
Zambia.
Foreign Trade
Imports—such as machinery and transport equipment, mineral fuels
and lubricants, chemicals, food, and basic manufactured
goods—totaled about $1.2 billion annually in the late 1980s.
Exports—chiefly copper, zinc, and cobalt—totaled about $687
million.
Transportation and Communications
Zambia has about 2160 km (about 1340 mi) of railroads. A
railroad from Zimbabwe runs to Maramba, Lusaka, and Ndola,
connecting with the Zaire system, and then to Benguela on the
Atlantic coast of Angola. The Tanzania-Zambia Railroad (Tazara)
connects Lusaka with the port of Dar es-Salaam in Tanzania.
About 7100 km (about 4410 mi) of paved roads connect the main
towns of Zambia. Lusaka is served by an international airport.
The government operates radio and television stations at Lusaka
and Kitwe. In the late 1980s about 1 million radios and 200,000
television sets were in use.
Labor
In the late 1980s about 2.6 million Zambians participated in the
labor force. The principal labor organization is the Zambia
Congress of Trade Unions, which has about 400,000 members.
Government
Zambia is a republic with a president elected to a five-year
term by direct universal suffrage. The president appoints a
cabinet, which is headed by a prime minister. Zambia's
legislative body, the National Assembly, has 150 elected
members. The 27-member House of Chiefs is an advisory body.
Under the 1973 constitution, the United National Independence
Party (UNIP) was Zambia's sole legal political organization, and
its central committee outranked the cabinet. In 1990 the
constitution was amended to allow opposition parties, and in
1991 the legislature enacted a new constitution providing for a
multiparty system and limiting presidential powers. An
opposition group, the Movement for Multiparty Democracy, won the
1991 general election.
Judiciary
The judicial system includes a supreme court, a high court, and
lower courts on the British model. African customary law is
applied in special courts.
Defense
In the late 1980s the armed forces of Zambia consisted of an
army of about 15,000 and an air force of 1200. Military service
is voluntary.
History
Southward-migrating Bantu invaded the area that is now Zambia
over a period of several centuries. The forerunners of the Sotho
and Nguni groups were in Zambia before AD 1000. These early
agricultural settlers and migrants developed mining and
metalworking techniques. A new group, the Shona Bantu, arrived
in the 12th century. Later, the Karanga clan of the Shona
established the great empire of the Mwene Mutapa, which included
southern Zambia. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Lunda and
Lozi from the Congo (now Zaire) populated the northern plains
and upper Zambezi River area. In the 19th century, the Kololo,
fleeing the wars in South Africa, moved northward and
established a brief hegemony over much of central and northern
Zambia before the Lozi once again asserted their dominance.
Eastern Zambia was settled by Bantu peoples related to those in
Malawi. Despite their differences, these various Bantu groups
shared certain common characteristics. They were primarily
agriculturists, but most of them also kept cattle. They were
tribally oriented, and their states usually were small, except
when a dominant king, such as the ruler of the Karanga, Kololo,
or Lozi, imposed his will on neighboring tribes. Consequently,
when the British moved into Zambia—or Barotseland, as they
called it—in the latter part of the 19th century, no powerful
kingdoms were there to resist them.
British Rule
At the time of British penetration in the area, the strongest
state in Zambia was that of the Lozi under Chief Lewanika, who
openly solicited British protection. A treaty of protection
relationship was signed between the Lozi overlord and a
representative of the British South Africa Company in 1889.
Eastern Zambia was added to Britain's empire by Sir Harry
Johnston during his conquest of Nyasaland (now Malawi). A
regular British resident, titled agent in charge, was sent to
Lewanika in 1897. Three years later the British government
directly assumed jurisdiction over the entire area.
British government in Zambia (then called Northern Rhodesia) was
the same as in its other African territories, consisting of a
small central executive authority made up of appointed Europeans
headed by a governor; the system of indirect rule allowed great
freedom to local rulers. In the late 1920s a major development
occurred: the discovery of copper in the north. This led to the
extension of the railway and the building of the first smelting
plants in the so-called copper belt. By the beginning of World
War II in 1939, Zambia had become a major producer of copper,
and the extreme urbanization of the northwest was under way. The
copper industry brought an influx of European technicians and
administrators to Zambia, and although they never gained the
political power of European settlers in Southern Rhodesia
(present Zimbabwe), they became a dominant force in Zambian
life.
In 1953, under pressure from the white minority in Southern
Rhodesia, the British government forced the creation of the
Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, comprising the territories
of Northern Rhodesia (present-day Zambia), Southern Rhodesia
(now Zimbabwe), and Nyasaland (now Malawi). It was dominated by
the white population of the territories, and the central
government headed by Lord Malvern and Sir Roy Welensky was a
reflection of Southern Rhodesian politics. The federation was
condemned from its inception by every African politician in the
state. The path toward independence was more difficult for
Zambia than for most other British African territories because
the federation had to be broken first. This was accomplished by
Malawi in conjunction with pressure applied by Zambian
nationalists, led by Kenneth Kaunda.
Independence
The federation was dissolved at the end of 1963. Nyasaland
became independent as Malawi in July 1964, and Northern Rhodesia
as Zambia in October 1964. Kaunda's party, the United National
Independence party (UNIP), won the first and all subsequent
elections. In 1972 Zambia became a one-party state, but its
leadership remained moderate and pro-Western. Private land was
nationalized in 1975 as part of an unsuccessful agricultural
improvement program. The completion of the rail link to Dar es-Salaam,
Tanzania, in 1976, freed Zambia from its dependence on the
Rhodesian- and South African-controlled railway for the
transport of its copper.
President Kaunda opposed the white-dominated regime in southern
Rhodesia from its inception, and his assistance to guerrilla
insurgents proved crucial to the establishment of a black
majority government there in 1980. Although Kaunda was reelected
to a sixth presidential term in 1988, popular discontent with
Zambia's stagnant economy and his autocratic rule continued to
grow. In 1990 food riots and an abortive coup shook the
government, and the aging leader agreed to allow multiparty
voting. The opposition Movement for Multiparty Democracy won the
1991 general election, and its presidential candidate, Frederick
Chiluba, defeated Kaunda by a wide margin.
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