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| | Background 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. The People | Population | 11,477,447 | | 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.) | | Life expectancy at birth | total population: 38.44 years
male: 38.34 years
female: 38.54 years (2007 est.) | Population growth rate | 1.664% (2007 est.) | | Ethnic groups | African 98.7%, European 1.1%, other 0.2% | | Religions | Christian 50%-75%, Muslim and Hindu 24%-49%, indigenous beliefs 1% | | Population below poverty line | 86% (1993) | | People living with HIV/AIDS | 920,000 (2003 est.) | | HIV/AIDS - deaths | 89,000 (2003 est.) | | Mobile phones in use | 946,600 (2005) |
Data (Background & The People) provided by The World Factbook |
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