Zambia has a strong mining sector. The country’s major mining resources are copper, cobalt, zinc, lead, coal, emerald, gold, silver, and uranium. Six percent of the country’s labor force are in mining, manufacturing, and construction, 85 percent are in agriculture, and 9 percent are in transportation and other services. The leading crops are corn, sorghum, rice, peanuts, sunflower seeds, tobacco, sugarcane, and cotton.
Zambia has a total area of 752,610 square kilometers and is bounded by seven countries, namely, Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. The history of Zambia is closely linked with that of its neighboring countries. From 1889 to 1924, it was under the administration of the South African Company. The country’s population, now estimated at 9.6 million, is mainly rural and is composed of 70 Bantu-speaking ethnic groups.
In 1972, Zambia became a one-party state with the United National Independence Party at the helm of government. Private land was nationalized in 1975 as part of the agricultural improvement program. In 1976, the rail link to Dar es-Salaam, Tanzania, was completed, freeing Zambia from its dependence on the Rhodesian and South Africancontrolled railway for the transport of its cooper.
One-party rule was ended in the elections of 1991. The new government abolished foreign exchange controls, passed new investment laws, set up a stock exchange, and embarked on a privatization program, which, at one point was dubbed by the World Bank the best on the continent. The president launched a far-reaching anti-corruption campaign in 2002, which resulted in the arrest of some government officials in 2003. These activities put an end to mammoth losses and greatly improved the chances for copper mining to return to profitability and spur economic growth. Copper output increased in 2003 and is expected to increase this year due to higher copper prices. The maize harvest doubled in 2003, helping boost Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 4 percent.
We congratulate the government and people of the Republic of Zambia on the occasion of their Independence Day.
