Zambia Travel Advice

General information for Zambia

Continent: Africa

Geographical location: Southern Africa, west of the Central African Rift, located in the southern hemisphere

Highest elevation: Mafinga Mountains (2339 m above sea level)

Longest river: Zambezi (approx. 2500 km)

Form of government: Republic System of

Government: Presidential system

Languages: English, various Bantu languages

Neighboring countries: Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi and Tanzania

Capital: Lusaka

Area: Approx. 752,614 km²

Residents: Approx. 17,100,000 people (2017)

Population density: 23 people per km²

Religions: Christians 98%, Muslims 0.5%, other Baha’i, Hindus, African natural religions

Currency: Kwacha (ZMW), 1 Euro is about 14.3 MWK (2019). The current exchange rate can be found at oanda.com

Climate: Tropical with three seasons

Time zone: UTC + 2

Area code: +260

Country code: ZM, ZMB, 894

Electricity: Sockets of type C, D and G are used in Zambia. The mains voltage is 3 x 230V with a 50Hz change interval. A travel plug adapter is an advantage.

Check a2zdirectory for old history of Zambia and agooddir for modern history of Zambia.

Major cities in Zambia are:

Lusaka

Lusaka, the economic, political and urban center of Zambia, is one of the fastest growing cities in Africa. The city center, especially Independence Avenue and Cairo Road, is characterized by commercial and office buildings of typical service sectors such as insurance, banks, tour operators, sports clubs and health services, the health sector, retailers, hotels, tour operators, sports clubs, etc. There is also an exchange, hotels, Industry and craft as well as the city’s shopping centers. The Lusaka National Museum, the Political Museum, the Zintu Community Museum, the Freedom Monument, the Parliament building of the Zambian National Assembly, the Musterfelder Agricultural Society, the Moore Pottery, the Lusaka Drama, the Cathedral of the Holy Cross,

Kitwe

Kitwe, also called Kitwe Nkana or Nkana-Kitwe, is the second largest city in Zambia with 553,000 residents, which is located at an altitude of about 1200 m in the Copperbelt province on the upper reaches of the Kafue River. Together with the surrounding area and the industrial belt, 1.2 million people live there. Kitwe is the main location for copper mining and processing in Zambia and a purely workers’ settlement. The gem mines and the Copperbelt University are also located in the south of the city. The Chisokone market, where numerous traders from different sectors offer their goods for sale, is well worth a visit.

Ndola

The third largest city in Zambia with a population of 400,000 is the capital of the Copperbelt province, Ndola, at an altitude of 1,300 meters. It is the processing and administrative center of the economic focus region of Zambia. The Swedish UN General Secretary Dag Hammarskjöld crashed over the city on the flight to a mediation meeting in the Katanga conflict and had a fatal accident. A memorial commemorates this 1961 event in

Kabwe

Kabwe is the capital of the Central Province and with around 200,000 residents the fourth largest city in the Republic of Zambia. Together with the people living in the district of the same name, the population in this area comes to around 300,000. Kabwe is 1,172 meters above sea level and 130 kilometers north of Lusaka on an ore vein with high levels of lead, zinc and cadmium, which are mined here and are an important economic factor in the central province and all of Zambia. Because of the uncontrolled degradation of the toxic heavy metals over decades until 1994, the city still has to struggle with serious environmental problems and in particular with contamination by lead.

Chingola

The mining town of Chingola, also located in the Copperbelt Province, is Zambia’s fifth largest city with around 150,000 residents.

Fixed-date holidays in Zambia

January 1 New Year’s Day

March 8 International Women’s Day

on March 3rd Day of Martyrs

on March 12 Youth Day

May 1 May Day

May 25 Day of the African liberation

on July 1st Heroes Day

on July 2nd Day of Unity

24.Okt. Independence Day

25th Dec Christmas

Medical information for Zambia

For legal reasons, we as a tour operator are not allowed to communicate any binding medical information for Zambia and therefore refer to the information provided by the Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Robert Koch Institute and the German Society for Tropical Medicine and International Health

Travel advice for Zambia

You can obtain current travel and safety advice, information on entering and leaving the country, as well as special criminal law advice and recommendations for your stay in Zambia from the Federal Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany.