Zambia: People & Society#
| Population | 15,510,711 note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2016 est.) |
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| Nationality | noun: Zambian(s) adjective: Zambian |
| Ethnic groups | Bemba 21%, Tonga 13.6%, Chewa 7.4%, Lozi 5.7%, Nsenga 5.3%, Tumbuka 4.4%, Ngoni 4%, Lala 3.1%, Kaonde 2.9%, Namwanga 2.8%, Lunda (north Western) 2.6%, Mambwe 2.5%, Luvale 2.2%, Lamba 2.1%, Ushi 1.9%, Lenje 1.6%, Bisa 1.6%, Mbunda 1.2%, other 13.8%, unspecified 0.4% (2010 est.) |
| Languages | Bembe 33.4%, Nyanja 14.7%, Tonga 11.4%, Lozi 5.5%, Chewa 4.5%, Nsenga 2.9%, Tumbuka 2.5%, Lunda (North Western) 1.9%, Kaonde 1.8%, Lala 1.8%, Lamba 1.8%, English (official) 1.7%, Luvale 1.5%, Mambwe 1.3%, Namwanga 1.2%, Lenje 1.1%, Bisa 1%, other 9.7%, unspecified 0.2% note: Zambia is said to have over 70 languages, although many of these may be considered dialects; all of Zambia's major languages are members of the Bantu family (2010 est.) |
| Religions | Protestant 75.3%, Roman Catholic 20.2%, other 2.7% (includes Muslim Buddhist, Hindu, and Baha'i), none 1.8% (2010 est.) |
| Demographic profile | Zambia’s poor, youthful population consists primarily of Bantu-speaking people representing nearly 70 different ethnicities. Zambia’s high fertility rate continues to drive rapid population growth, averaging almost 3 percent annually between 2000 and 2010. The country’s total fertility rate has fallen by less than 1.5 children per woman during the last 30 years and still averages among the world’s highest, almost 6 children per woman, largely because of the country’s lack of access to family planning services, education for girls, and employment for women. Zambia also exhibits wide fertility disparities based on rural or urban location, education, and income. Poor, uneducated women from rural areas are more likely to marry young, to give birth early, and to have more children, viewing children as a sign of prestige and recognizing that not all of their children will live to adulthood. HIV/AIDS is prevalent in Zambia and contributes to its low life expectancy. Zambian emigration is low compared to many other African countries and is comprised predominantly of the well-educated. The small amount of brain drain, however, has a major impact in Zambia because of its limited human capital and lack of educational infrastructure for developing skilled professionals in key fields. For example, Zambia has few schools for training doctors, nurses, and other health care workers. Its spending on education is low compared to other sub-Saharan countries. |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 46.08% (male 3,590,466/female 3,556,756) 15-24 years: 20% (male 1,550,183/female 1,552,706) 25-54 years: 28.65% (male 2,239,661/female 2,204,823) 55-64 years: 2.91% (male 211,039/female 240,156) 65 years and over: 2.35% (male 158,827/female 206,094) (2016 est.) |
| Dependency ratios | total dependency ratio: 95.4% youth dependency ratio: 89.7% elderly dependency ratio: 5.7% potential support ratio: 17.6% (2015 est.) |
| Median age | total: 16.7 years male: 16.6 years female: 16.9 years (2016 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 2.94% (2016 est.) |
| Birth rate | 41.8 births/1,000 population (2016 est.) |
| Death rate | 12.4 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.) |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.) |
| Urbanization | urban population: 40.9% of total population (2015) rate of urbanization: 4.32% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.) |
| Major urban areas - population | LUSAKA (capital) 2.179 million (2015) |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female 0-14 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-24 years: 1 male(s)/female 25-54 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 55-64 years: 0.88 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2016 est.) |
| Mother's mean age at first birth | 19.2 note: median age at first birth among women 25-29 (2013/14 est.) |
| Maternal mortality rate | 224 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 62.9 deaths/1,000 live births male: 68.3 deaths/1,000 live births female: 57.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 52.5 years male: 50.8 years female: 54.1 years (2016 est.) |
| Total fertility rate | 5.67 children born/woman (2016 est.) |
| Contraceptive prevalence rate | 40.8% (2007) |
| Health expenditures | 5% of GDP (2014) |
| Physicians density | 0.17 physicians/1,000 population (2012) |
| Hospital bed density | 2 beds/1,000 population (2010) |
| Drinking water source | improved: urban: 85.6% of population rural: 51.3% of population total: 65.4% of population unimproved: urban: 14.4% of population rural: 48.7% of population total: 34.6% of population (2015 est.) |
| Sanitation facility access | improved: urban: 55.6% of population rural: 35.7% of population total: 43.9% of population unimproved: urban: 44.4% of population rural: 64.3% of population total: 56.1% of population (2015 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate | 12.91% (2015 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | 1,211,900 (2015 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths | 19,800 (2015 est.) |
| Major infectious diseases | degree of risk: very high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever water contact disease: schistosomiasis animal contact disease: rabies (2016) |
| Obesity - adult prevalence rate | 7.2% (2014) |
| Children under the age of 5 years underweight | 14.8% (2014) |
| Education expenditures | 1.1% of GDP (2008) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write English total population: 63.4% male: 70.9% female: 56% (2015 est.) |
| Child labor - children ages 5-14 | total number: 1,000,850 percentage: 41% note: data represent children ages 7-14 (2005 est.) |
| Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 | total: 15.2% male: 14.6% female: 15.8% (2012 est.) |