Major problems facing Zambia today
The Republic of Zambia or Zambia for short is a beautiful country located at the Southern part of Africa just at of the south of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Republic of Zambia also shares borders with the Republic of Tanzania to the north-east, the Republic of Angola to the west, the Republics of Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mozambique and Namibia to the south. Zambia has a total land area of about 752,618 squared kilometers. The Republic of Zambia has a total population of about 14 million people with the population growth rate around 3.1%. About 36% of the total population of Zambia live in major cities and towns with the majority of the population living in rural areas. Lusaka the capital of Zambia contains about 1.5 million people.
Although not among the most culturally rich countries in Africa, there are so many ethnic and racial groups living in Zambia today with black Africans (including, Bemba, Lozi, Tonga, Lala, Ngoni, Chewa, Nsenga, Kaonde, Lunda, etc)forming about 99.5% of the total population. Europeans, Americans, and Asians make up the remaining 0.5% of the total population. Zambia is one of the most Christian-dominant communities in Africa today with about 50-75% of the total population being Christians. Muslims and Hindus form about 24-49% of the total population. Indigenous believers make the remaining 1% of the total population.
Although just about 1.7% of the total population speak English Language, there are several other official languages spoken in Zambia today. About 30.1% of the total population do speak and understand Bemba the most dominant official language in Zambia today followed by Nyanja (about 10.7% of the total population speak and understand the Nyanja language), Tonga (official) about 10.6% of the total population, Lozi (official) about 5.7% of the total population, Chewa about 4.9%, Nsenga 3.4% of the total population, Tumbuka about 2.5%, Lunda (official) about 2.2% of the total populatioin, Kaonde (official) 2%, Lala 2% of the total population, Luvale (official) about 1.7%, other non-official languages about 22.5% of the total population.
The Republic of Zambia just like its neighboring countries is blessed with abundance of natural resources such as gold, silver, copper, uranium, hydropower, zinc, cobalt, coal, lead, etc.
The Republic of Zambia has a literacy rate of about 80.6% for the total population and 74.8% for the female population. In other words, about 80.6% of the total population of Zambia above age 15 can at least read and write which is far better than in most other African countries. Although the female literacy rate in Zambia today falls below the national average, about 74.8% of the total female population above age 15 can at least read and write which is also far better than in most other African countries.
However, despite the abundance of natural resources and the high literacy rates, about 64% of the total population of Zambia live below poverty line. Despite the high literacy rates, quality education is very hard to come by in Zambia today so at the end of the day, children graduate from school with degrees upon degrees but unable to apply what they've learned to better their living conditions. Many end up unemployed with nothing at all to do after college. The poverty level is worse especially in the rural areas.
The Republic of Zambia remains one of the top 10 HIV/AIDS killing zones in the world today with a high HIV/AIDS adult prevalence rate of about 13.5%. More than 980,000 people were living with HIV/AIDS in 2009 with about 45,000 deaths recorded within the same year.
Natural hazards such as periodic droughts and sometimes tropical storms (from November to April) remain major problems in Zambia today. Just like in most other African countries, corruption and governance continue to tear Zambia into pieces.