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On gaining independence from Britain in 1964, Zambia became a one-party state under President Kenneth Kaunda. In 1991 multi-party elections were held for the first time and today Zambia is a functioning democracy.
| At independence, Zambia had one of the highest per capita incomes in sub-Saharan Africa. It had large deposits of minerals, plenty of agricultural land, and wonderful game reserves. Zambia was encouraged to concentrate on exporting copper and it became one of Africa's most industrialised and urbanised countries. The wealth from copper paid for extensive education and health programmes. Following the oil crisis in the 1970s the price of copper collapsed and the price of oil rose. Zambia was forced to turn to the IMF and World Bank for assistance. So began some thirty years of Bank and Fund intervention in the Zambian economy, a period of increasing debt, economic collapse and social crisis.
During this time Zambia's debts rose from US$800 million to almost US$6,000 million.
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Since 1991, in order to qualify for debt relief, Zambia has been forced to implement such economic policies as privatisation, trade liberalisation, subsidy cuts and public sector wage freezes. And yet, in the same period, Zambia has had the worse economic performance of any African country that has not suffered from conflict. Its economy declined by 1.7 percent a year in the 1990s. And yet, by 2003, Zambia had received only 5 per cent of the debt service reduction committed to it.
| For poor people in rural areas the consequence of this has been a steady decline in access to such basic rights as sufficient food, clean water, health services or education: 50% of the population are undernourished; 20% of children do not live to see their 5th birthday; and life expectancy has fallen to 33 years. Against this backdrop of extreme poverty, Zambia now faces yet another crisis: HIV/AIDS. Approximately 1 in 5 people are HIV positive and AIDS is now considered the biggest threat to Zambia's struggle for development. It is killing an entire generation, and Zambia now has the second highest numbers of orphans in the world. Zambia is a landlocked country in southern Africa covering an area which is just slightly smaller than the UK and France combined. It is bordered by the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) to the north, Tanzania and Malawi to the east, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south and Angola to the west. Zambia's climate can be split into three periods. From December to March it is hot and wet, with regular and heavy downpours. The average rainfall at Kaloko is about 1,000mm a year. From April to August it is dry and cool and then from about September it starts to get progressively hotter until the rains start again in December. About 70% of Zambia consists of what is termed Miombo woodland. This is a mixture of grassland dotted with trees and shrubs. However, less than 10% of the country is developed agriculture. Zambia has a population of about 10 million, 50% of who are under 15 years old. Around 1 million live in the capital Lusaka, with another 3 million living in other urban areas. English is the official language, although it is not spoken much in rural areas. The population is mostly black African of Bantu descent, with small European and Indian communities. There are more than 72 different languages and dialects spoken across the country. The majority of Zambians are Christians but there is also significant population of Muslims and Hindus. Traditional beliefs are still very widely held and a belief in witchcraft is very pervasive. Many people still consult traditional healers before visiting a doctor.
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