Profile of Zambia

Population: 11,502,010
Languages: English , major vernaculars – Bemba, Kanonda, Lozi,

Lunda,Lubale, Nyanja, Tonga and about 70 other indigenous

                     languages.
                     Capital: Lusaka

Brief History
The territory of Northern Rhodesia was administered by the [British] South Africa Company from 1891 until it was taken over by the United Kingdom in 1923.
Throughout the 1920s and 1930s improvements in mining led to development and immigration. Upon independence in 1964 the name was changed to Zambia. In the 1980s and 1990s the economy was affected by decreases in copper prices and a prolonged drought. In the 1991 elections one party rule came to an end but the subsequent vote in 1996 saw blatant harassment of opposition parties.

Today
The election in 2002 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 an anti-corruption campaign in 2002 which resulted in the prosecution of former President Frederick CHILUBA and some officials of his administration. Mwanawasa was re-elected in 2006 in an election that was deemed free and fair. Upon his abrupt death in August 2008, he was succeeded by his Vice-president Rupiah BANDA, who subsequently won
a special presidential election in October 2008.

Zambia - Helen Flaherty