Because you've all been asking...here are some fast facts....
Language: English, indigenous languages (73+)
A landlocked country in central Africa, Zambia occupies an elevated plateau, flanked in the south by the Zambezi River—and Victoria Falls. There are more than 70 ethnic groups, and most of them live in Lusaka, the capital, or in the cities of the Copperbelt—the two largest, Ndola and Kitwe, have more than 400,000 people each. It is one of sub-Saharan Africa's most highly urbanized countries.
Endowed with huge copper reserves and fertile farmland, Zambia looked to the future with optimism after independence from Britain in 1964. But copper prices plummeted in the mid-1970s, and transport costs soared. The economy has been in decline ever since, and copper, vital to Zambia's economy, suffers from declining prices.
Farming will become increasingly important; only a fifth of the arable land is cultivated. Thundering Victoria Falls and other power sources bring self-sufficiency in hydroelectricity.
The territory of Northern Rhodesia was administered by the [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 and a prolonged drought hurt the economy. Elections in 1991 brought an end to one-party rule, but the subsequent vote in 1996 saw blatant harassment of opposition parties. 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. The new president launched an anticorruption investigation in 2002 to probe high-level corruption during the previous administration. In 2006-07, this task force successfully prosecuted four cases, including a landmark civil case in the UK in which former President Chiluba and numerous others were found liable for USD 41 million. Mwanawasa was reelected in 2006 in an election that was deemed free and fair.
More than 70 percent of Zambians live in poverty, and unemployment is a serious problem. Zambia depends on copper for most of its foreign earnings so the economy suffers when copper prices decline. AIDS is blamed for decimating the cream of Zambian professionals, including engineers and political leaders. It kills around 100,000 people each year.
EconomyIndustry: copper mining and processing, construction, foodstuffs, beverages.
Agriculture: corn, sorghum, rice, peanuts; cattle.
Exports: copper, cobalt, electricity, tobacco, flowers.
Sources:
http://www3.nationalgeographic.com/places/countries/country_zambia.html
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/za.html
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