The Lion King | 21
Country Focus
T
he Republic of Zambia is a land-
locked country in Southern Africa
bordering the Democratic Republic
of Congo to the North, Malawi to the
East, Tanzania to the North-East, Mo-
zambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana to the
South and Angola to the West. It covers
about 752,615 square kilometres with
several large freshwater bodies, includ-
ing Lake Tanganyika, Lake Mweru, Lake
Bangweulu, and the largest man-made
lake in Africa, Lake Kariba.
The terrain consists of high plateaus,
large savannas, and hilly areas; the
highest altitude is in the Muchinga
Mountains, at 1,828 meters (6,000 feet).
The Great Rift Valley cuts through the
Southwest and Victoria Falls, one of the
7 wonders of the world and the most
visited site in Zambia.
Zambia was known as Northern Rhode-
sia from 1911 until it got its independ-
ence on October 24, 1964. Zambia
derives its name from the Zambezi River,
a river that runs across the western and
southern borders to form the Victoria
Falls and flows into Lake Kariba and into
the Indian Ocean.
The main tribes in Zambia are Bemba,
Ngoni, Lozi, Chewa , Lunda, Luvale,
Tonga, and Tumbuka. The seventy-five
tribes that make up Zambia co-exist
relatively well in comparison to tribes in
neighboring countries. Ethnic diversity is
the hallmark feature of Zambian culture
boasting of people with over seventy
various ethnic origins. The cultural herit-
age of Zambia is an embodiment of the
distinctiveness of each tribe inhabiting
the land, yet combining to form a unit-
ed country.
ECONOMY
Zambia has many natural resources
such as copper, cobalt, zinc, lead,
coal, emeralds, gold, silver and urani-
um. Though the Zambian economy is
dependent on copper, the agriculture
sector is the major employer (70% of
the population). However, the sector’s
potential to contribute to the country’s
development remains largely underex-
ploited.
Growth in real GDP, which in 2014 stood
US$ 23.4 billion, is largely driven by man-
ufacturing, mining, construction, trans-
port, communications and the public
sector. Copper remains the country’s
mainstay, contributing about 70% to
export earnings. Main export products
are from intermediate goods mainly
comprising copper cathodes, and
sections of refined copper accounting
for 83.8%. The other 16.2% is comprised
of consumer goods, capital goods and
raw materials.
Major export destinations in 2014 in-
clude Switzerland, which accounts for
44.7% of overall export products while
China ranks second accounting for
17.6% for copper cathodes and cop-
per blisters. South Africa ranks third and
other destinations include Democratic
Republic of Congo and Australia. The
five top countries account for 85% of
Zambia’s 2014 total export earnings.
The country also supports unique indus-
tries, such as a flourishing cement trade
that exports primarily to Zambia's neigh-
bours. Farms outside of Lusaka also
export roses, and are leading suppliers
to the European market.
Despite progress in privatization and
budgetary reform, Zambia's economy
has a long way to go. Privatization of
government-owned copper mines
relieved the government from covering
huge losses generated by the industry
and greatly improved the chances for
copper mining to return to profitability
and spur economic growth.
However, low mineral prices have
slowed the benefits from privatizing
the mines and reduced incentives for
further private sector investment in the
sector. Unemployment rates remain
high, but GDP growth should average
4% into the future.
Photo: Flickr/Johnny Peacock
Photo: Flickr/Kwong Yee Cheng
Victoria Falls - Knife Edge Bridge:
The bridge offers the finest view
of the Eastern Cataract, the
Main Falls and the Boiling Pot.
