Map of Zambia

Zambia

Zambia - officially known as the Republic of Zambia - lies in the center of the southern part of Africa. Zambia borders the southern coast of Lake Tanganyika, but has no coastline on an ocean. It was first inhabited by the Khoisan people, who were later displace by the Bantu and Tonga. The Portuguese explorer Francisco De Lacerda was the first European on the coast in the 18th century and the Portuguese claimed the land soon afterward. It was further explored inland by the famous Dr. Livingston who named the large waterfall after Queen Victoria. In 1888, the British South Africa Company obtained mining rights to the area and renamed it Northern Rhodesia. Northern Rhodesia and Northwestern Rhodesia were administered separately until 1911, when Britain refused to renew BSA's contract. As other countries gained autonomy, riots in Northern Rhodesia grew to gain it as well.
A vote for independence, was decided on in 1963. In 2010, the World Bank named Zambia's economy one of the fastest growing economies of economically reformed countries in the world. The city of Lukasa is the headquarters for the Common Market for Eastern and South Africa. It is the most highly urbanized country in the sub-Sahara. There are thousands of Indian and Chinese people living in Zambia, thanks to British mining efforts generations ago. The economy has historically been copper-based, and it continues to be the main export. The official language is English.