Map of Zambia
Zambia is a country in Africa with its capital at Lusaka, home to about 21.91 million people across 752,618 km². The interactive map below plots 34 cities and towns, 10 rivers, 5 lakes, 1 mountain summits and 1 major dams recorded for Zambia in YearMaps.
- Population
- 21.91 million
- Area
- 752,618 km²
- Capital
- Lusaka
- Continent
- Africa
Interactive Map of Zambia
Centred on Lusaka at 15.4147° S, 28.2814° E. Use the layer panel to switch on rivers, dams, ports, peaks and historical borders.
About Zambia
Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered to the north by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania to the northeast, Malawi to the east, Mozambique to the southeast, Botswana (via a tiny border of Chobe District) and Zimbabwe to the south, Namibia (via the Caprivi Strip) to the southwest, and Angola to the west. The capital city of Zambia is Lusaka, located in the south-central part of Zambia. The population is concentrated mainly around Lusaka in the south and the Copperbelt Province to the north, the core economic hubs of Zambia.
Originally inhabited by Khoisan peoples, the region was affected by the Bantu expansion of the thirteenth century. Following European expeditions in the eighteenth century, the British Empire began to consolidate control of the area following the 1890 British Ultimatum against the Portuguese, who had claimed the area between Angola and Mozambique in the 1885 Pink Map. Britain formed the British protectorates of Barotziland–North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia towards the end of the nineteenth century. These were merged in 1911 to form Northern Rhodesia. For most of the colonial period, Zambia was governed by an administration appointed from London with the advice of the British South Africa Company.
On 24 October 1964, Zambia became independent of the United Kingdom as a republic in the Commonwealth, and prime minister Kenneth Kaunda became the inaugural president. Kaunda's socialist United National Independence Party (UNIP) maintained power from 1964 until 1991, with him playing a role in regional diplomacy, cooperating with the United States in search of solutions to conflicts in Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), Angola, and Namibia. From 1972 to 1991, Zambia was a one-party state with UNIP as the sole legal political party under the motto "One Zambia, One Nation" coined by Kaunda. Following the introduction of a multiparty system in the early 1990s, Kaunda was defeated in the 1991 Zambian general election. Zambia has since continued to experience peaceful transitions of power.
Natural resources in Zambia include minerals, wildlife, forestry, freshwater, and arable land. As of an estimate in 2018, 47.9% of the population is affected by multidimensional poverty. The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is headquartered in Lusaka.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia: Zambia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Geography and Climate of Zambia
Bantu-speaking groups mainly from the Luba and Lunda Kingdoms in the Congo River Basin and from the Great Lakes region in East Africa settled in what is now Zambia beginning around A.D. 300, displacing and mixing with previous population groups in the region. The Mutapa Empire developed after the fall of Great Zimbabwe to the south in the 14th century and ruled the region, including large parts of Zambia, from the 14th to 17th century. The empire collapsed as a result of the growing slave trade and Portuguese incursions in the 16th and 17th centuries. The region was further influenced by migrants from the Zulu Kingdom to the south and the Luba and Lunda Kingdoms to the north, after invading colonial and African powers displaced local residents into the area around the Zambezi River, in what is now Zambia. In the 1880s, British companies began securing mineral and other economic concessions from local leaders. The companies eventually claimed control of the region and incorporated it as the protectorate of Northern Rhodesia in 1911. The UK took over administrative control from the British South Africa Company in 1924. During the 1920s and 1930s, advances in mining spurred British economic ventures and colonial settlement. Northern Rhodesia’s name was changed to Zambia upon independence from the UK in 1964, under independence leader and first President Kenneth KAUNDA. In the 1980s and 1990s, declining copper prices, economic mismanagement, and a prolonged drought hurt the economy. Elections in 1991 brought an end to one-party rule and propelled the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) into power. The subsequent vote in 1996, however, saw increasing harassment of opposition parties and abuse of state media and other resources. Administrative problems marked the election in 2001, with three parties filing a legal petition challenging the election of ruling party candidate Levy MWANAWASA. MWANAWASA was reelected in 2006 in an election that was deemed free and fair. Upon his death in 2008, he was succeeded by his vice president, Rupiah BANDA, who won a special presidential byelection later that year. BANDA and the MMD lost to Michael SATA and the Patriotic Front (PF) in the 2011 general elections. SATA, however, presided over a period of haphazard economic management and attempted to silence opposition to PF policies. SATA died in 2014 and was succeeded by his vice president, Guy SCOTT, who served as interim president until 2015, when Edgar LUNGU won the presidential byelection and completed SATA's term. LUNGU then won a full term in the 2016 presidential elections. Hakainde HICHILEMA was elected president in 2021.
- Location
- Southern Africa, east of Angola, south of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- Climate
- Tropical; modified by altitude; rainy season (October to April)
- Terrain
- Mostly high plateau with some hills and mountains.
- Highest point
- Mafinga Central 2,330 m.
- Lowest point
- Zambezi river 329 m.
- Coastline
- 0 km (landlocked)
- Land borders
- Total: 6,043.15 km; border countries: Angola 1,065 km; Botswana 0.15 km; Democratic Republic of the Congo 2,332 km; Malawi 847 km; Mozambique 439 km; Namibia 244 km; Tanzania 353 km; Zimbabwe 763 km.
- Major rivers
- Congo river source (shared with Angola, Republic of Congo, and Democratic Republic of Congo [m]) - 4,700 km; Zambezi river source (shared with Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique [m]) - 2,740 km note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth.
- Major lakes
- Fresh water lake(s): Lake Tanganyika (shared with Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, and Burundi) - 32,000 sq km; Lake Mweru (shared with Democratic Republic of Congo) - 4,350 sq km; Lake Bangweulu - 4,000-15,000 sq km seasonal variation.
- Natural resources
- Copper, cobalt, zinc, lead, coal, emeralds, gold, silver, uranium, hydropower.
- Land use
- Agricultural land: 32.1% (2023 est.); arable land: 5.1% (2023 est.); permanent crops: 0.1% (2023 est.); permanent pasture: 26.9% (2023 est.); forest: 60.6% (2023 est.); other: 7.3% (2023 est.)
- Natural hazards
- Periodic drought; tropical storms (November to April)
- Geographic note
- Landlocked; the Zambezi forms a natural river boundary with Zimbabwe; Lake Kariba on the Zambia-Zimbabwe border forms the world's largest reservoir by volume (180 cu km; 43 cu mi)
- Languages
- Bemba 33.4%, Nyanja 14.7%, Tonga 11.4%, Lozi 5.5%, Chewa 4.5%, Nsenga 2.9%, Tumbuka 2.5%, Lunda (North Western) 1.9%, Kaonde 1.8%, Lala 1.8%, Lamba 1.8%, English (official) 1.7%, Luvale 1.5%, Mambwe 1.3%, Namwanga 1.2%, Lenje 1.1%, Bisa 1%, other 9.7%, unspecified 0.2% (2010 est.)
- Religions
- Protestant 75.3%, Roman Catholic 20.2%, other 2.7% (includes Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, and Baha'i), none 1.8% (2010 est.)
- Ethnic groups
- Bemba 21%, Tonga 13.6%, Chewa 7.4%, Lozi 5.7%, Nsenga 5.3%, Tumbuka 4.4%, Ngoni 4%, Lala 3.1%, Kaonde 2.9%, Namwanga 2.8%, Lunda (north Western) 2.6%, Mambwe 2.5%, Luvale 2.2%, Lamba 2.1%, Ushi 1.9%, Lenje 1.6%, Bisa 1.6%, Mbunda 1.2%, other 13.8%, unspecified 0.4% (2010 est.)
- Economy
- Lower-middle-income sub-Saharan economy; regional hydroelectricity producer; trade ties and infrastructure investments from China; IMF assistance to restructure debt burden; one of youngest and fastest-growing labor forces; systemic corruption; extreme rural poverty.
From the CIA World Factbook (public domain), archived edition of 2026-01-22. The Factbook is no longer updated, so figures reflect that edition.
Zambia in Numbers
- Population
- 21.91 million
- GDP
- US$28.9 billion
- GDP per person
- US$1,318
- Life expectancy
- 66.5 years
- Population growth
- 2.77% a year
- Population density
- 29 per km²
- Urban population
- 45.9%
- Surface area
- 752,612 km²
- Forest cover
- 60.5%
- Arable land
- 5.1%
- Access to electricity
- 53.6%
- Internet users
- 17.1%
Indicators from World Bank Open Data (CC BY 4.0). The year under each figure is its reference year.
Zambia in Depth
History
This is the history of the region that became the Republic of Zambia on 24 October 1964.
The fossil skull remains of the Broken Hill Man (also known as Kabwe Man), dated between 300,000 and 125,000 years BC, further shows that the area was inhabited by early humans.
Zambia once was inhabited by the Khoisan and Batwa peoples until around AD 300, when migrating Bantu began to settle the areas. It is believed the Khoisan people originated in East Africa and spread southwards around 150,000 years ago. The Twa people were split into two groups: the Kafwe Twa lived around the Kafue Flats and the Lukanga Twa who lived around the Lukanga Swamp.
Geography
Zambia is a landlocked country in southern Africa, with a tropical climate, and consists mostly of high plateaus with some hills and mountains, dissected by river valleys. At 752,614 square kilometres (290,586 sq mi), it is the 39th-largest country in the world. The country lies mostly between latitudes 8° and 18°S, and longitudes 22° and 34°E.
Zambia is drained by two major river basins: the Zambezi/Kafue basin in the centre, west, and south covering about three-quarters of the country; and the Congo basin in the north covering about one-quarter of the country. An area in the northeast forms part of the internal drainage basin of Lake Rukwa in Tanzania.
Economy
In 2022, Zambia averages between $7.5 billion and $8 billion of exports annually. It totalled $9.1 billion worth of exports in 2018. In 2015, about 54.4% of Zambians lived below the recognised national poverty line, improved from 60.5% in 2010. Rural poverty rates were about 76.6% and urban rates at about 23.4%. The national poverty line was ZMK 214 (US$12.85) per month. As of the latest estimate in 2018 by the United Nations Development Programme, 47.9 percent of the population continued to be affected by multidimensional poverty. Unemployment and underemployment in urban areas are serious problems. Most rural Zambians are subsistence farmers.
Zambia was ranked 112th in the Global Innovation Index in 2025.
Demographics
The main ethnic groups in Zambia are Bemba 3.3 million (33.6%), Nyanja 1.8 million (18.2%), Tonga 1.7 million (16.8%), North-Western peoples 1 million (10.3%), Lozi (Barotse) 770,000 (7.8%), Mambwe 580,000 (5.9%), Tumbuka 500,000 (5.1%), Lamba 165,000 (2%), Asians 11,900 and Europeans 6,200.
Zambia is one of the most highly urbanised countries in sub-Saharan Africa, with 44% of the population concentrated along the major transport corridors, while rural areas are sparsely populated. The fertility rate was 6.2 as of 2007 (6.1 in 1996, 5.9 in 2001–02).
The onset of industrial copper mining on the Copperbelt in the late 1920s triggered rapid urbanisation. Although urbanisation was overestimated during the colonial period, it was substantial.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Zambia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Zambia: Key Facts
| Currency | Zambian Kwacha |
|---|---|
| Official language | English |
| Head of state | Hakainde Hichilema |
| Head of government | Edgar Lungu |
| Form of government | presidential system, representative democracy |
| Calling code | +260 |
| Internet domain | .zm |
| Highest point | Mafinga Central |
| Lowest point | Zambezi River |
| Established | 24 October 1964 |
Facts from Wikidata Q953 (CC0).
History of Zambia: Empires and States
The atlas records 4 polities whose mapped territory included part of Zambia, from British Africa in 1895 CE to 2024 CE. They are listed in the order they first appear.
| Polity | Period here | Extent |
|---|---|---|
| British Africa | 1895–1960 CE | Nearly all |
| The British Empire | 1895–1968 CE | Nearly all |
| British East Africa | 1961–1968 CE | Nearly all |
| Zambia | 1967–2024 CE | Most |
Historical Maps of Zambia
Zambia on the world map in each year one of these states held it:
Derived by testing mapped cities against dated territorial polygons. Dates are when the polygons cover this place, not the polity's whole lifespan, and polities absent from the source dataset are not listed.
Visiting Zambia
Zambia offers travelers some of the world's best safari opportunities, a glimpse into "real Africa", and Victoria Falls, one of the World's Seven Natural Wonders and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Travel notes adapted from Wikivoyage: Zambia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Largest Cities in Zambia
34 cities recorded. Ranked by metropolitan population. A port city's harbour is written up on the page of its sea.
| # | Name | Population | Region | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lusaka | 1.33 million | Lusaka | National capital |
| 2 | Kitwe | 404,901 | Copperbelt | Populated place |
| 3 | Ndola | 396,339 | Copperbelt | Admin-1 capital |
| 4 | Kasama | 200,000 | Northern | Admin-1 capital |
| 5 | Kabwe | 188,979 | Central | Admin-1 capital |
| 6 | Chingola | 182,015 | Copperbelt | Populated place |
| 7 | Livingstone | 165,480 | Southern | Admin-1 capital |
| 8 | Mufulira | 153,624 | Copperbelt | Populated place |
| 9 | Luanshya | 151,993 | Copperbelt | Populated place |
| 10 | Chipata | 85,963 | Eastern | Admin-1 region capital |
| 11 | Chililabombwe | 82,068 | Copperbelt | Populated place |
| 12 | Solwezi | 65,000 | North-Western | Admin-1 capital |
| 13 | Mazabuka | 64,006 | Southern | Populated place |
| 14 | Mongu | 52,534 | Western | Admin-1 capital |
| 15 | Kafue | 47,554 | Southern | Populated place |
| 16 | Choma | 46,746 | Southern | Populated place |
| 17 | Mansa | 42,277 | Luapula | Admin-1 capital |
| 18 | Kapiri Mposhi | 37,942 | Central | Populated place |
| 19 | Mpika | 28,445 | Northern | Populated place |
| 20 | Nchelenge | 23,693 | Luapula | Populated place |
| 21 | Kawambwa | 20,589 | Luapula | Populated place |
| 22 | Mbala | 20,570 | Northern | Populated place |
| 23 | Sesheke | 20,149 | Western | Populated place |
| 24 | Mumbwa | 19,086 | Central | Populated place |
| 25 | Kaoma | 14,212 | Western | Populated place |
The other 9 (population, region, role)
- Chinsali · 14,015 · Northern · Populated place
- Mwinilunga · 13,798 · North-Western · Populated place
- Lundazi · 11,635 · Eastern · Populated place
- Senanga · 10,005 · Western · Populated place
- Kalabo · 7,731 · Western · Populated place
- Zambezi · 7,074 · North-Western · Populated place
- Kasempa · 5,622 · North-Western · Populated place
- Lukulu · 3,349 · Western · Populated place
- Nyimba · 1,336 · Eastern · Populated place
Highest Mountains in Zambia
1 mountain recorded. Ranked by summit elevation above sea level. A summit on a border is listed under both countries.
| # | Name | Elevation | Feet | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sunzu | 2,067 m | 6,781 ft | Africa |
Major Dams in Zambia
1 dam recorded. Ranked by structural height.
| # | Name | Height | River | Capacity | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kariba Dam | 128 m | Zambezi | 1,830 MW | 1959 |
Largest Lakes in Zambia
5 lakes recorded. Ranked by mapped surface area. A lake on a border is listed under each country it lies in, with the area of the whole lake.
| # | Name | Surface Area | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lake Tanganyika | 32,896 km² | Lake |
| 2 | Lac Moeru | 5,057 km² | Lake |
| 3 | Lake Kariba | 4,724 km² | Reservoir |
| 4 | Lake Bangweulu | 2,125 km² | Lake |
| 5 | Lake Cheshi | 298 km² | Lake |
Rivers in Zambia
10 rivers recorded. Listed alphabetically. A river is listed where its mapped reach lies, so long rivers appear under more than one country.
Mountain Ranges, Deserts and Landforms of Zambia
4 mountain ranges, deserts and other landforms recorded. Ranked by mapped area. Covers mountain ranges, deserts, plateaus, named glaciers, plains, basins, peninsulas and capes. One that crosses a border is listed under every country it lies in, with the area of the whole feature.
| # | Name | Area | Type | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Africa | 29.41M km² | Continent | Africa |
| 2 | Congo Basin | 3.11M km² | Basin | Africa |
| 3 | Katanga Plateau | 745,170 km² | Plateau | Africa |
| 4 | Muchinga Mountains | 59,428 km² | Range/mtn | Africa |
States and Provinces of Zambia
5 first-level divisions with their own map.
Countries Bordering Zambia
Land and maritime neighbours.
More Maps in Africa
Zambia: Quick Answers
- What is the capital of Zambia?
- The capital of Zambia is Lusaka.
- What is the population of Zambia?
- Zambia has a population of about 21.91 million, the #62 largest of 225 countries in YearMaps. Source: World Bank, 2025.
- How big is Zambia?
- Zambia covers 752,618 km², ranking #40 by area, with about 29 people per square kilometre.
- Which continent is Zambia in?
- Zambia is in Africa.
- Which countries border Zambia?
- Zambia shares a land or maritime border with Angola, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Botswana, DR Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia.
- What is the largest city in Zambia?
- Lusaka is the largest city in Zambia, with a metropolitan population of about 1.33 million.
- What is the highest mountain in Zambia?
- The highest summit recorded for Zambia in YearMaps is Sunzu at 2,067 m (6,781 ft). Summits on a border are counted for both countries.
- What is the largest lake in Zambia?
- The largest lake recorded in or bordering Zambia is Lake Tanganyika, at roughly 32,896 km².
- What is the tallest dam in Zambia?
- The tallest dam recorded for Zambia is Kariba Dam at 128 m, on the Zambezi.