Zambian people
Zambia – a highly urbanised country
Zambia has one of the lowest population to land ratio’s in Africa which makes it in effect one of the most highly urbanized countries in sub-Saharan Africa with 44% of the population concentrated in a few urban areas along the major transport corridors. Zambia’s total population is about 10 million people in a country half the size of Europe. The rural areas are mainly unpopulated as about about one fifth of the population lives on the Copperbelt to the north of the capital and the biggest concentration of people is in Lusaka itself with an estimated population of over 2 million. This has resulted in massive tracts of uninhabited land across the country.
The Zambian population comprises approximately 72 ethnic groups, most of which are Bantu-speaking.
Almost 90% of Zambians belong to the nine main ethnolinguistic groups: the Nyanja-Chewa, Bemba, Tonga, Tumbuka, 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, all the ethnic groups can be found in significant numbers in Lusaka and the Copperbelt.
Mostly British or South African expatriats as well as some white Zambian citizens, live mainly in Lusaka and in the Copperbelt in northern Zambia. Here they are either employed in mines, financial and related activities or retired. In recent years, several hundred dispossessed white farmers have left Zimbabwe at the invitation of the Zambian government, to take up farming in the Southern province. Zambia also has a small but economically important Asian population, most of whom are Indians and Chinese. .
Languages spoken by the Zambian people
The official language of Zambia is English which people is use to conduct official business. English is also the medium of instruction in schools. The main local language is Nyanja, however, Bemba and Nyanja are spoken in the urban areas in addition to other indigenous languages which are commonly spoken in Zambia.
These are: Ambo, Aushi, Bisa, Chikunda, Cishinga, Cokwe, Gova, Ila, Inamwanga, Iwa, Kabende, Kaonde, Kosa, Kunda, Kwandi, Kwandu, Kwangwa, Lala, Lamba, Lenje, Leya, Lima, Liyuwa, Lozi, Luano, Lucazi, Lumbu, Lunda, Lundwe, Lungu, Luunda, Luvale, Makoma, Mambwe, Mashasha, Mashi, Mbowe, Mbukushu, Mbumi, Mbunda, Mbwela, Mukulu, Mulonga, Ndembu, Ng’umbo, Nkoya, Nsenga, Nyengo, Nyiha, Sala, Seba, Senga, Shanjo, Shila, Simaa, Soli, Subiya, Swaka, Tabwa, Tambo, Toka, Tonga, Totela, Tumbuka, Twa, Unga, Wandya and Yombe.
Estimates of the total number of languages spoken in Zambia add up to 72. There are also thirteen (13) dialects which are counted as languages in their own right which then brings this number to 85.
