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Zambia is situated in South Central Africa and
has 8 neighbours, to the North these are, Democratic Republic of
Congo and Tanzania to the west and east are Angola, Namibia an
Malawi respectively. To the south lie Zimbabwe, Botswana and
Mozambique.
Zambia covers an area of 752,614 square kilometers. This is equal to
Spain and UK put together. The water distribution can be categorized
as follows; 17 large urban towns serve more than 50,000, 13 small
urban towns serve more than 20,000<50,000, 53 rural towns serve less
than 20,000.
With the exception of the Northern and Luapula
provinces, which are part of the Zaire basin, Zambia lies on the
watershed between the Zaire and Zambezi river systems. The
country's' three natural lakes, Bangweulu, Mweru and the southern
end of lake Tanganyika, all in the north, are part of the headwaters
of the Zaire River. Lake
Tanganyika is the second deepest natural lake in the world. Lake
Bangweulu, which with its swamps covers an area of about, 6,115
square kilometers. Along the Southern border stretches the Lake
Kariba, the largest man-made lake in the Africa and the second
largest in the world at 5,000 square kilometers. It is about 280
kilometers long and 40 kilometers across its widest point.
Population
Zambia has an estimated population of about 10 million, about 60% of
these live in the urban areas which is along the line of rail that
runs from the south of the country in Livingstone the tourist
capital to Chiliabombwe in the north in the mining region known as
the Copperbelt
Geography
Zambia has three distinctive geographical regions in the North lie
the high land an extension of the great rift valley found in East
Africa. The Middle land is towards the centre of the country where
the capital Lusaka is situated. This area has some the second
largest farming region after the Southern Province. The lowest land
is in the south where the Zambezi escarpment dominates most the the
landscape. The tourist capital Livingstone then Zambias' first
capital city (1931). This region is has most of the tourist centres
and camps that offer various facilities and tourist packages.
Climate
The climate in Zambia can be categorised according to the three
seasons,
- April - August Cold Season (Cool, dry and windy)
- August - November Dry Season (Hot and dry) and
- December - March Rainy Season (Wet, hot and cold in the evenings)
Languages
Two local dialects Nyanja and Bemba are widely spoken country wide.
However English is the official language and widely spoken.
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Currency |
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The Zambian currency K = Kwacha. The
currency is has the following denominations
(notes) |
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K 20.00 (twenty kwacha)
K 50.00 (fifty kwacha)
K 100.00 (one hundred kwacha)
K 500.00 (five hundred kwacha)
K 1,000.00 (one thousand kwacha)
K 5,000.00 (five thousand kwacha)
K 10,000.00 ( ten thousand kwacha)
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Other Currencies
Major world currencies are accepted in Zambia
- $ : United States Dollar
- £ : British Pound |
Caution:
It is better to pay in kwacha as some places do not have
dollar scanners. |
Credit Cards
Master Card, VISA, American Express, Barclays Connect are accepted
for
making payment.
Exchange Rate as at:
29th March, 2005
- $1 = K4,740
(One dollar to three thousand nine hundred and forty kwacha)
- £1 = K8,400 (One pound to five thousand
four hundred kwacha)
Note: The rates change often so be
sure to check for current rates
Transport & Communication
Zambia has a wide network of roads that link most of the country to
the
major towns. Some roads are in a bad state but are passable during
the dry
period of the year. The rainy season presents travelling hardship in
the rural
areas as most of the roads there are gravel and become muddy in the
rain season.
Generally the road network between major towns and provincial
capitals are good.
Although the country's' largest telecommunications company "Zamtel"
is still government owned other privately owned company's' have been
established in the past few years, these however just provide
cellular phone services. A large part of the country is reachable by
telephone and fax. The electronic mail 'email' is still not widely
used because the network is still old. Access to the World Wide Web
www is available in major towns along the line of rail and in
Livingstone the tourist capital.
Major Towns
The major towns of Zambia can be listed as follows;
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Lusaka - the Capital
City in the Central area of the country
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Livingstone - the
tourist capital in the south
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Chipata - the entry
point into Zambia from the east
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Kasama - the gateway
to Zambia from the north
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Solwezi - into Zambia
from the North-Western direction
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Mongu - hello Zambia
over the plains and eastward from the west
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