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Zambia -

Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in southern Africa.

It borders the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania on the north-east, Malawi on the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia to the south, and Angola on the west.

Formerly Northern Rhodesia, the country is named after the Zambezi river.

In Zambia, there are a total of seventy-eight different languages spoken. The offical language of Zambia is English.

The State Coat of Arms of Zambia was adopted on 24 October 1964 when the Republic of Zambia reached its independence. This coat of arms is adapted from the arms of the Colony of Northern Rhodesia which dates to 1927. The Eagle of liberty represents the conquest of freedom and nation's hope for the future. The Shield is a representation of Victoria Falls with white water cascading over black rock. The black also symbolises the African population and its link to the Zambezi river which is where the name Zambia comes from.

The coat of arms also has emblems of Zambia's natural resources; minerals and mining, agriculture and wildlife. The shield is supported by two figures which represent the common man and woman of the nation. The country's motto is "One Zambia, One Nation" making reference to its peaceful and united tribes.
The shield of these arms also took up one field in the shield of the coat of arms of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland 1954-1963.

HIV/AIDS is the nation's greatest problem, with 17% prevalence among the adult population. HIV/AIDS will continue to ravage Zambian economic, political, cultural, and social development for the foreseeable future.

Zambia's population is comprised of about seventy-two Bantu-speaking ethnic groups but almost 90% of Zambians belong to the nine main ethnolinguistic groups: the Bemba, Nyanja-Chewa, Tonga, Tumbuka (spoken in the Eastern Province and eastern part Northern Province), Lunda, Luvale, Kaonde, Nkoya and Lozi. In the rural areas, each ethnic group is concentrated in a particular geographic region of the country and many groups are very small and not as well known. However, in Lusaka and the Copperbelt, all the ethinic groups can be found in good proportions.

Zambia's constitution identifies the country as a Christian nation, but a variety of religious traditions exist. Traditional religious thought blends easily with Christian beliefs in many of the country's syncretic churches. Islam also has a visible presence especially in urban settings.

Sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zambia



     
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