All about Zambia

geographical area

Zambia is landlocked and sparsely populated by more than 70 ethnic groups, many of them Bantu-speaking. It is known for its spectacular scenery in places such as the Victoria Falls along the Zambezi River, the Luangwa River valley and the Bangweulu Swamps. Zambia’s national parks have been referred to as southern Africa’s best kept secret, though the news is filtering through to wildlife aficionados that Zambia offers a wealth of game and bird viewing. For scenery and variety of animals, South Luangwa National Park is one of the continent’s best. It was in 1938 that the Luangwa reserves were created to protect and control the wildlife population. Game includes lion, zebra, buffalo and Thornicroft’s giraffe. The park also supports large colonies of elephant and is famous for it’s population of leopards.

capital

population

people

The population comprises approximately 72 ethnic groups, most of which are Bantu-speaking. Almost 90% of Zambians belong to the nine main ethnolinguistic groups: the Bemba, Nyanja-Chewa, Tonga, Tumbuka, Lunda, Luvale, Kaonde, Nkoya and Lozi. In the rural areas, each ethnic group is concentrated in a particular geographic region of the country and many groups are very small and not as well known. However, all the ethnic groups can be found in significant numbers in Lusaka and the Copperbelt.

language

The official language of Zambia is English, which is used to conduct official business and is the medium of instruction in schools. Commonly-spoken indigenous languages number over seventy and include the: Lamba, Kaonde, Tumbuka, Ngoni, Ila,Senga, Chewa, Chibemba, Nsenga Chinyanja, Lunda, Chitonga, Kaonde, Silozi, Nkoya, and Luvale.