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 task force in 2002, but the government has yet to make a prosecution.

The Zambian leader was reelected in 2006 in an election that was deemed free and fair.

Source: CIA World Fact Book

Population: 11,477,447 note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.)

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Age structure: 0-14 years: 45.7% (male 2,633,578/female 2,608,714) 15-64 years: 51.9% (male 2,969,913/female 2,990,923) 65 years and over: 2.4% (male 116,818/female 157,501) (2007 est.)

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Median age: total: 16.8 years male: 16.6 years female: 16.9 years (2007 est.)

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Population growth rate: 1.664% (2007 est.)

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Birth rate: 40.78 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Death rate: 21.46 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Net migration rate: -2.68 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.993 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.742 male(s)/female total population: 0.994 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

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Infant mortality rate: total: 100.71 deaths/1,000 live births male: 105.48 deaths/1,000 live births female: 95.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

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Life expectancy at birth: total population: 38.44 years male: 38.34 years female: 38.54 years (2007 est.)

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Total fertility rate: 5.31 children born/woman (2007 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 16.5% (2003 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 920,000 (2003 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - deaths: 89,000 (2003 est.)

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Major infectious diseases: degree of risk: very high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: malaria and plague are high risks in some locations water contact disease: schistosomiasis (2007)

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Nationality: noun: Zambian(s) adjective: Zambian

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Ethnic groups: African 98.7%, European 1.1%, other 0.2%

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Religions: Christian 50%-75%, Muslim and Hindu 24%-49%, indigenous beliefs 1%

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Languages: English (official), major vernaculars - Bemba, Kaonda, Lozi, Lunda, Luvale, Nyanja, Tonga, and about 70 other indigenous languages

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Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write English total population: 80.6% male: 86.8% female: 74.8% (2003 est.)

Despite progress in privatization and budgetary reform, Zambia's economic growth in 2005-06 remained somewhat below the 6-7% per year needed to reduce poverty significantly. Privatization of government-owned copper mines relieved the government from covering mammoth losses generated by the industry and greatly improved the chances for copper mining to return to profitability and spur economic growth. Copper output has increased steadily since 2004, due to higher copper prices and the opening of new mines. The maize harvest was good again in 2005, helping to boost GDP and agricultural exports. Cooperation continues with international bodies on programs to reduce poverty, including a new lending arrangement with the IMF in the second quarter of 2004. A tighter monetary policy will help cut inflation, but Zambia still has a serious problem with high public debt.

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GDP (purchasing power parity): $11.64 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP (official exchange rate): $5.795 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP - real growth rate: 5.8% (2006 est.)

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GDP - per capita (PPP): $1,000 (2006 est.)

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GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 19.9% industry: 28.9% services: 51.2% (2006 est.)

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Labor force: 4.903 million (2006 est.)

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Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 85% industry: 6% services: 9%

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Unemployment rate: 50% (2000 est.)

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Population below poverty line: 86% (1993)

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Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 1.1% highest 10%: 41% (1998)

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Distribution of family income - Gini index: 52.6 (1998)

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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.8% (2006 est.)

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Investment (gross fixed): 26.5% of GDP (2006 est.)

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Budget: revenues: $2.674 billion expenditures: $2.99 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.)

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Public debt: 65.7% of GDP (2006 est.)

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Agriculture - products: corn, sorghum, rice, peanuts, sunflower seed, vegetables, flowers, tobacco, cotton, sugarcane, cassava (tapioca), coffee; cattle, goats, pigs, poultry, milk, eggs, hides

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Industries: copper mining and processing, construction, foodstuffs, beverages, chemicals, textiles, fertilizer, horticulture

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Industrial production growth rate: 10.1% (2006 est.)

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Electricity - production: 9.962 billion kWh (2004)

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Electricity - consumption: 6.692 billion kWh (2004)

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Electricity - exports: 2.975 billion kWh (2004)

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Electricity - imports: 403 million kWh (2004)

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Oil - production: 140 bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - consumption: 13,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - exports: NA bbl/day

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Oil - imports: NA bbl/day

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Oil - proved reserves: 0 bbl

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Natural gas - production: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - consumption: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Current account balance: -$165.4 million (2006 est.)

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Exports: $3.928 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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Exports - commodities: copper/cobalt 64%, cobalt, electricity; tobacco, flowers, cotton

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Exports - partners: Switzerland 38.4%, South Africa 21.6%, China 10.3%, UK 7.6%, Tanzania 6.4% (2006)

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Imports: $3.092 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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Imports - commodities: machinery, transportation equipment, petroleum products, electricity, fertilizer; foodstuffs, clothing

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Imports - partners: South Africa 47.3%, UAE 10.4%, Zimbabwe 5.7%, Norway 4% (2006)

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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $1.05 billion (2006 est.)

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Debt - external: $4.397 billion (2006 est.)

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Economic aid - recipient: $640.6 million (2002)

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Currency (code): Zambian kwacha (ZMK)

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Exchange rates: Zambian kwacha per US dollar - 3,601.5 (2006), 4,463.5 (2005), 4,778.9 (2004), 4,733.3 (2003), 4,398.6 (2002)

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Fiscal year: calendar year