Zambia:
Geography

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Other pages in this profile of Zambia:
People, Government, Economy, Communications & Transportation, Military & Transnational Issues.


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.

Location	Southern Africa, east of Angola
Geographic coordinates	15 00 S, 30 00 E
Map references	Africa
Area	total: 752,614 sq km land: 740,724 sq km water: 11,890 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly larger than Texas
Land boundaries	total: 5,664 km border countries: Angola 1,110 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 1,930 km, Malawi 837 km, Mozambique 419 km, Namibia 233 km, Tanzania 338 km, Zimbabwe 797 km
Coastline	0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims	none (landlocked)
Climate	tropical; modified by altitude; rainy season (October to April)
Terrain	mostly high plateau with some hills and mountains
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Zambezi river 329 m highest point: unnamed location in Mafinga Hills 2,301 m
Natural resources	copper, cobalt, zinc, lead, coal, emeralds, gold, silver, uranium, hydropower
Land use	arable land: 6.99% permanent crops: 0.04% other: 92.97% (2005)
Irrigated land	1,560 sq km (2003)
Natural hazards	periodic drought, tropical storms (November to April)
Environment - current issues	air pollution and resulting acid rain in the mineral extraction and refining region; chemical runoff into watersheds; poaching seriously threatens rhinoceros, elephant, antelope, and large cat populations; deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; lack of adequate water treatment presents human health risks
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note	landlocked; the Zambezi forms a natural riverine boundary with Zimbabwe