Capital: Lusaka
Area: 752 610 km²
Population: 9 130 000
Currency: 1 US$ = 148 Kwasha
GDP: 423 US$

Languages: English (official), Bemba (north), Nyanja (east), Tonga (south), and Lozi (west)

Northern Rhodesia, established as a British protectorate in 1889 and forced into the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland in 1953, became the independent Republic of Zambia when that federation was disbanded in 1964.

Its first President, Kenneth Kaunda held power of the one party socialist state for 27 years during which he nationalised much of the economy including the important copper mines, he negotiated the construction by the Chinese of the Tazara railway from Lusaka to Dar es Salaam and he steadfastly supported independence movements in the neighbouring countries. In 1991, internal resistance and outside pressures forced multi party elections which he lost to Frederick Chiluba who promptly modified the constitution to prevent Kaunda from presenting himself again.