Zambia①

Zambia is comprised of a variety of ethnic groups.  The majority of the population is African at 98.7%.  European comprise 1.1% while the other groups comprise 0.2%.  There are two main religious groups in Zambia, the first being Christians at 50%-75%, and the second being Muslim and Hindu 24%-49%, with indigenous beliefs at 1%.  Even though English if the official language of Zambia, major indigenous vernaculars such as Bemba, Kaonda, Lozi, Lunda, Luvale, Nyanja, Tonga, and about 70 other indigenous languages are still spoken daily.

Zambia gained its independence in October 1964 from the United Kingdom (UK).  Its legal system is based on English common law and customary law with judicial review of legislative acts in an ad hoc constitutional council. Zambia contains many natural resources such as copper, cobalt, zinc, lead, coal, emeralds, gold, silver, uranium, and hydropower.  However, despite progress in privatization and budgetary reform, Zambia's economy has a long way to go. Agriculture and industry are the main components and employers of the Zambian economy, comprising more than 50% of each case.

Zambia’s education system is doing moderately well, with a literacy rate of 78.9% for the entire process.  This level entails the female literacy rate (72.6%) and the male literacy rate (85.7%).  Another more than 89% of the young females and 84% of the young males in Zambia are enrolled in gross primary school.  This number drops dramatically for secondary school, with 30% of the females and 23% of the males attending this level of school.  This drop in enrollment rates could be attributed to the lack of government spending on education, since the government allots only 2% of its budget to education.