"text":"The territory of Northern Rhodesia was administered by the former British 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, economic mismanagement, and a prolonged drought hurt the economy. Elections in 1991 brought an end to one-party rule and propelled the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) to government. The subsequent vote in 1996, however, saw increasing harassment of opposition parties and abuse of state media and other resources. 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. MWANAWASA was reelected in 2006 in an election that was deemed free and fair. Upon his death in August 2008, he was succeeded by his vice president, Rupiah BANDA, who won a special presidential byelection later that year. The MMD and BANDA lost to the Patriotic Front (PF) and Michael SATA in the 2011 general elections. SATA, however, presided over a period of haphazard economic management and attempted to silence opposition to PF policies. SATA died in October 2014 and was succeeded by his vice president, Guy SCOTT, who served as interim president until special elections were held in January 2015. Edgar LUNGU won the presidential byelection and will complete SATA's term, which expires in late 2016."
"text":"Angola 1,065 km, Botswana 0.15 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 2,332 km, Malawi 847 km, Mozambique 439 km, Namibia 244 km, Tanzania 353 km, Zimbabwe 763 km"
}
},
"Coastline":{
"text":"0 km (landlocked)"
},
"Maritime claims":{
"text":"none (landlocked)"
},
"Climate":{
"text":"tropical; modified by altitude; rainy season (October to April)"
},
"Terrain":{
"text":"mostly high plateau with some hills and mountains"
},
"Elevation extremes":{
"lowest point":{
"text":"Zambezi river 329 m"
},
"highest point":{
"text":"unnamed elevation in Mafinga Hills 2,301 m"
"text":"periodic drought; tropical storms (November to April)"
},
"Environment - current issues":{
"text":"air pollution and resulting acid rain in the mineral extraction and refining region; chemical runoff into watersheds; poaching seriously threatens rhinoceros, elephant, antelope, and large cat populations; deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; lack of adequate water treatment presents human health risks"
},
"Environment - international agreements":{
"party to":{
"text":"Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands"
},
"signed, but not ratified":{
"text":"none of the selected agreements"
}
},
"Geography - note":{
"text":"landlocked; the Zambezi forms a natural riverine boundary with Zimbabwe; Lake Kariba on the Zambia-Zimbabwe border forms the world's largest reservoir by volume (180 cu km; 43 cu mi)"
"text":"Zambia is said to have over 70 languages, although many of these may be considered dialects; all of Zambia's major languages are members of the Bantu family (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Religions":{
"text":"Protestant 75.3%, Roman Catholic 20.2%, other 2.7% (includes Muslim Buddhist, Hindu, and Baha'i), none 1.8% (2010 est.)"
},
"Population":{
"text":"15,066,266",
"note":{
"text":"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, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2015 est.)"
"text":"several previous; latest adopted 24 August 1991, promulgated 30 August 1991; amended 1996; note - in late 2013, a constitution committee submitted a draft constitution to the government, but revisions remain under discussion (2015)"
},
"Legal system":{
"text":"mixed legal system of English common law and customary law"
},
"International law organization participation":{
"text":"has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction"
},
"Suffrage":{
"text":"18 years of age; universal"
},
"Executive branch":{
"chief of state":{
"text":"President Edgar LUNGU (since 25 January 2015); Vice President Inonge WINA (since 26 January 2015); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government"
},
"head of government":{
"text":"President Edgar LUNGU (since 25 January 2015); Vice President Inonge WINA (since 26 January 2015"
},
"cabinet":{
"text":"Cabinet appointed by president from among members of the National Assembly"
},
"elections/appointments":{
"text":"president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); special presidential election held on 20 January 2015 to complete President SATA's term in office (next to be held in late 2016); SATA died 28 October 2014; vice president appointed by the president"
},
"election results":{
"text":"Edgar LUNGU elected president; percent of vote - Edgar LUNGU (PF) 48.8%, Hakainde HICHILEMA (UPND) 47.2%, other 4%"
}
},
"Legislative branch":{
"description":{
"text":"unicameral National Assembly (158 seats; 150 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote, and 8 appointed by the president; members serve 5-year terms)"
},
"elections":{
"text":"last held on 20 September 2011 (next to be held in 2016); note - over 25 by-elections, prompted by resignation, death, change of party or legal nullification have taken place since September 2011"
"text":"percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PF 60, MMD 55, UPND 28, ADD 1, FDD 1, independent 3, seats not determined 10; note - seats as of September 2015 - PF 84, MMD 34, UPND 31, ADD 1, FDD 1, independent 2, other 5"
"text":"Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice, deputy chief justice, and 7 judges)"
},
"judge selection and term of office":{
"text":"Supreme Court judges appointed by the president upon the advice of the 9-member Judicial Service Commission - headed by the chief justice, and ratified by the National Assembly; judges normally serve until age 65"
},
"subordinate courts":{
"text":"High Court (competence on constitutional issues); Industrial Relations Court; Subordinate Court; magistrate's courts and local courts"
"text":"Alliance for Democracy and Development or ADD [Charles MILUPI] ++ Forum for Democracy and Development or FDD [Edith NAWAKWI] ++ Movement for Multiparty Democracy or MMD [Nevers MUMBA] ++ Patriotic Front or PF [Edgar LUNGU] ++ United Party for National Development or UPND [Hakainde HICHILEMA]"
"text":"green field 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; green stands for the country's natural resources and vegetation, red symbolizes the struggle for freedom, black the people of Zambia, and orange the country's mineral wealth; the eagle represents the people's ability to rise above the nation's problems"
},
"National symbol(s)":{
"text":"African fish eagle; national colors: green, red, black, orange"
},
"National anthem":{
"name":{
"text":"\"Lumbanyeni Zambia\" (Stand and Sing of Zambia, Proud and Free)"
},
"lyrics/music":{
"text":"multiple/Enoch Mankayi SONTONGA"
},
"note":{
"text":"adopted 1964; the melody, from the popular song \"God Bless Africa,\" is the same as that of Tanzania but with different lyrics; the melody is also incorporated into South Africa's anthem"
}
}
},
"Economy":{
"Economy - overview":{
"text":"Zambia has had one of the world’s fastest growing economies for the past ten years, with real GDP growth averaging roughly 6.7% per annum. Privatization of government-owned copper mines in the 1990s relieved the government from covering mammoth losses generated by the industry and greatly increased copper mining output and profitability, spurring economic growth. Copper output increased steadily from 2004, due to higher copper prices and foreign investment, but weakened in 2014 when Zambia was overtaken by the Democratic Republic of Congo as Africa’s largest copper producer. Zambia's dependency on copper makes it vulnerable to depressed commodity prices, but record high copper prices and a bumper maize crop in 2010 helped Zambia rebound quickly from the world economic slowdown that began in 2008. Despite strong economic growth and its status as a lower middle-income country, widespread and extreme rural poverty and high unemployment levels remain significant problems, made worse by a high birth rate, a relatively high HIV/AIDS burden, and by market-distorting agricultural policies. Economic policy inconsistency and poor budget execution in recent years has hindered the economy and contributed to weakness in the kwacha, which was Africa’s worst performing currency during 2014. Zambia has raised $1.75 billion from international investors by issuing separate sovereign bonds in September 2012 and April 2014, significantly increasing the country’s public debt as a share of GDP. On January 1, 2015, a new mineral royalty tax regime dramatically increased mining taxes, and has led to an economic impasse between the government and the mines. If left intact, the new tax could result in the closure of less profitable mines, the loss of thousands of jobs, and the loss of additional foreign investment."
"Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy":{
"text":"3.054 million Mt (2012 est.)"
}
},
"Communications":{
"Telephones - fixed lines":{
"total subscriptions":{
"text":"110,000"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants":{
"text":"1 (2014 est.)"
}
},
"Telephones - mobile cellular":{
"total":{
"text":"10.1 million"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants":{
"text":"69 (2014 est.)"
}
},
"Telephone system":{
"general assessment":{
"text":"among the best in sub-Saharan Africa"
},
"domestic":{
"text":"high-capacity microwave radio relay connects most larger towns and cities; several cellular telephone services in operation and network coverage is improving; domestic satellite system being installed to improve telephone service in rural areas; Internet service is widely available; very small aperture terminal (VSAT) networks are operated by private firms"
},
"international":{
"text":"country code - 260; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean), 3 owned by Zamtel (2010)"
}
},
"Broadcast media":{
"text":"state-owned Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) operates 1 TV station and is the principal local-content provider; several private TV stations; multi-channel subscription TV services are available; ZNBC operates 3 radio networks; about 2 dozen private radio stations; relays of at least 2 international broadcasters are accessible in Lusaka and Kitwe (2007)"
},
"Radio broadcast stations":{
"text":"AM 19, FM 5, shortwave 4 (2001)"
},
"Television broadcast stations":{
"text":"9 (2001)"
},
"Internet country code":{
"text":".zm"
},
"Internet users":{
"total":{
"text":"2.3 million"
},
"percent of population":{
"text":"15.4% (2014 est.)"
}
}
},
"Transportation":{
"Airports":{
"text":"88 (2013)"
},
"Airports - with paved runways":{
"total":{
"text":"8"
},
"over 3,047 m":{
"text":"1"
},
"2,438 to 3,047 m":{
"text":"3"
},
"1,524 to 2,437 m":{
"text":"3"
},
"914 to 1,523 m":{
"text":"1 (2013)"
}
},
"Airports - with unpaved runways":{
"total":{
"text":"80"
},
"2,438 to 3,047 m":{
"text":"1"
},
"1,524 to 2,437 m":{
"text":"5"
},
"914 to 1,523 m":{
"text":"53"
},
"under 914 m":{
"text":" ++ 21 (2013)"
}
},
"Pipelines":{
"text":"oil 771 km (2013)"
},
"Railways":{
"total":{
"text":"3,126 km"
},
"narrow gauge":{
"text":"3,126 km 1.067-m gauge"
},
"note":{
"text":"includes 1,860 km of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) (2014)"
"text":"2,250 km (includes Lake Tanganyika and the Zambezi and Luapula rivers) (2010)"
},
"Ports and terminals":{
"river port(s)":{
"text":"Mpulungu (Zambezi)"
}
}
},
"Military":{
"Military branches":{
"text":"Zambian Defense Force (ZDF): Zambia Army, Zambia Air Force, Zambia National Service (support organization) (2015)"
},
"Military service age and obligation":{
"text":"national registration required at age 16; 18-25 years of age for male and female voluntary military service (16 years of age with parental consent); no conscription; Zambian citizenship required; grade 12 certification required; mandatory HIV testing on enlistment; mandatory retirement for officers at age 65 (Army, Air Force) (2012)"
},
"Manpower available for military service":{
"males age 16-49":{
"text":"3,041,069"
},
"females age 16-49":{
"text":"2,948,291 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower fit for military service":{
"males age 16-49":{
"text":"1,745,656"
},
"females age 16-49":{
"text":"1,688,670 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually":{
"male":{
"text":"158,592"
},
"female":{
"text":"158,805 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Military expenditures":{
"text":"1.55% of GDP (2012) ++ 1.59% of GDP (2011) ++ 1.55% of GDP (2010)"
}
},
"Transnational Issues":{
"Disputes - international":{
"text":"in 2004, Zimbabwe dropped objections to plans between Botswana and Zambia to build a bridge over the Zambezi River, thereby de facto recognizing a short, but not clearly delimited, Botswana-Zambia boundary in the river"
},
"Refugees and internally displaced persons":{
"refugees (country of origin)":{
"text":"18,598 (Democratic Republic of the Congo) (2014)"
}
},
"Illicit drugs":{
"text":"transshipment point for moderate amounts of methaqualone, small amounts of heroin, and cocaine bound for southern Africa and possibly Europe; a poorly developed financial infrastructure coupled with a government commitment to combating money laundering make it an unattractive venue for money launderers; major consumer of cannabis"
