People

Zambia has one of the lowest population-to-land ratios in Africa: about 10 million people in a country half the size of Europe. The employment opportunities offered in the copper mines and associated industries post independence led to a strong rural-urban migration. The result has made Zambia one of the most urbanised countries in Africa with massive areas of uninhabited land across the country. About one fifth of the population lives on the Copperbelt in the north, but the biggest concentration of people is found in Lusaka with an estimated population of over 2 million.

Zambia’s contemporary culture is a blend of values, norms and traditions of more than 70 ethnically diverse people. Most of the tribes of Zambia moved into the area in a series of migratory waves a few centuries ago. Many travelled in search of establishing new kingdoms, farming land and pastures. However, the existence of so many tribes has proved less of a political problem in Zambia than in many other African countries.

At least half of the Zambian population are Christian, mainly Roman Catholics and adherents of the Protestant United Church of Zambia. Most of the remainder follow traditional religions.