An Introduction to Zambia
The Republic of Zambia was initially populated by various tribes of hunter-gatherers which gradually coalesced into a multiethnic community. European explorers first visited in the 18th Century, and by the end of the 19th Century Zambia was named the British Colony of Northern Rhodesia. For this period, the country was governed by an administration appointed from London with the advice of the British South Africa Company. See full country profile.Latest Research News from Africa
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GOVERNMENT: Republic
AREA: 752,618 sq km
POPULATION: 13,881,336 (July 2011 est.)
MAJOR LANGUAGE: English and Recognised Regional Languages: Nyanja, Bemba, Lunda, Tonga, Lozi, Luvale, Kaonde and Chichewa
Some business and general info
The Market Research Industry
Trade and Industry in Zambia
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The Republic of Zambia was initially populated by various tribes of hunter-gatherers which gradually coalesced into a multiethnic community. European explorers first visited in the 18th Century, and by the end of the 19th Century Zambia was named the British Colony of Northern Rhodesia. For this period, the country was governed by an administration appointed from London with the advice of the British South Africa Company.
1964 saw independence from the UK, at which point the country named itself Zambia after the Zambezi River. From 1972 to 1991 there was a one-party democracy in place, led by the United National Independence Party. 1991 saw the introduction of multiparty democracy and as a result the country saw faster social and economic growth. Even though Zambia is one of the poorest nations on earth, in 2010 it was named by the World Bank as one of the World's fastest economically reforming countries.
GDP: $20.03 billion (2010 est.) - $1,500 per capita (2010 est.)
Religions Christian 50%-75%, Muslim and Hindu 24%-49%, indigenous beliefs 1%
Currency: Zambian Kwacha (ZMK) GBP 1 = ZMK 5756
Telephone Code: +260
MR Association(s):
The MR industry in the Sadec Region (Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland and Zambia) turned over $9m USD in 2009 - a growth of 0.7% on 2008 (The industry in the region has grown by a steady $1m USD a year since 2005 ($5m USD)
Source: ESOMAR
Zambia is amongst the poorest nations in the world. About 68% of Zambians live below the poverty line - in rural areas that figure rises to 78%. The country's rate of economic growth cannot support rapid population growth or the strain which HIV/AIDS related issues place on the economy. The Zambian economy has historically been based on the copper mining industry: after almost 30 years of decline, copper production began to rebound following privatisation of the industry in 2002. Improvements in the world copper market have magnified the effect of this volume increase on revenues and foreign exchange earnings.
The Zambian government is pursuing an economic diversification programme to reduce the economy's reliance on the copper industry: this initiative seeks to exploit other components of Zambia's rich resource base by promoting agriculture, tourism, gemstone mining, and hydro-power. In 2003, exports of nonmetals increased by 25% and accounted for 38% of all export earnings, previously 35%.
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