GEOGRAPHY:


TOTAL LAND AREA:
Total: 752,614.00 sq km

TERRAIN: 
Most of Zambia is moist savanna woodland, where broadleaf deciduous trees grow far enough apart to allow grasses and other plants to grow on the woodland floor. In the wetter north you'll see sprawling branches of stout baobab trees, some thousands of years old. Bushveld covers much of the drier south-west. 

FEATURES: 
The Zambezi River, together with Lake Kariba, forms the frontier with Zimbabwe. Victoria Falls, at the southern end of the man-made Lake Kariba, is one of the most spectacular sights in Africa (if not the world). In the east and north east the country rises to a plateau 1 200m (3 937ft) high, covered by deciduous savannah, small trees, grassy plains or marshland. 


ETHNIC GROUPS: 
More than 70 ethnic groups

RELIGIONS: 
Christian, Muslim, Hindu, indigenous beliefs

ECONOMY:

INDUSTRY:
meat processing, soap, breweries, tanneries, sugar, textiles, glassware, cement, automobile assembly plant, paper, petroleum, tourism.

AGRICULTURE: 
Coffee, Vanilla, Sugarcane, Cloves, Cocoa, Rice, Cassava (Tapioca), Beans, Bananas, Peanuts; Livestock Products

NATURAL RESOURCES:
Copper, Cobalt, Zinc, Lead, Coal, Emeralds, Gold, Silver, Uranium, Hydropower


GOVERNMENT:

Date of Independence: 24 October 1964 from the UK
(Prior to independence Zambia was known as Northern Rhodesia)
President: Levy Mwanawasa 

GOVERNMENT TYPE: 
Republic. Ruling political party: Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD)

URBAN LIFE:
The principle urban centres, Lusaka, Livingstone and the towns on the Copper belt are where most of the people head when they make the decision to go and look for employment. Those who are unable to find employment, end up living in settlements called shanty towns dotted around cities and towns. But the "shanties" are filled with people who have made a fine art out of surviving with very little. Home industries spring up everywhere from tailors, cobblers, vegetable sellers, money exchangers, to "walking salesmen" selling anything from frying pans, electric plugs and batteries to fruit, vegetables and nuts. For many young people, the countryside may be more open and free but, due to lack of formal employment there, it is a monotonous place to live in compared with the action and energy of the big city. 

RURAL LIFE: 
Depending upon the tribe, some build their houses from mud and thatch, while others burn bricks and build square houses that they paint with individual patterns. Even though life is hard in these remote villages, the villagers are by no means unhappy. Pleasure is taken in simple things and problems are shared. Daily chores are done in groups and often become social occasions. Everyone contributes to weddings and funerals otherwise they would not be affordable. Rural lifestyles are also dictated by the surrounding natural resources. Those in areas near the lakes for example, tend to live a life of fishing. Others will be hunters, farmers and/or honey collectors, all depending on available natural resources. 


ZAMBIA NATIONAL TOURIST BOARD:
Century House
Cairo Road
Lusaka, Zambia
Tel: +260 (1) 22 9087/90
Fax: +260 (1) 22 5174
Email: zntb@zamnet.zm  
Website: www.zambiatourism.com 

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