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 The
territory of Northern Rhodesia was administered by the South Africa
Company from 1891 until takeover by the UK in 1923. During the 1920s
and 1930s, advances in mining spurred development and immigration. The
name was changed to Zambia upon independence in 1964. In the 1980s and
1990s, declining copper prices and a prolonged drought hurt the economy.
Elections in 1991 brought an end to one-party rule, but the subsequent
vote in 1996 saw blatant harassment of opposition parties. Most of the
country has savanna-type vegetation—grasslands interspersed with trees.
Teak forests are in the southwest. Animals include elephants, lions,
rhinoceroses, and several varieties of antelope. Of overwhelming importance
are the rich mineral veins of the country's copper belt. The belt extends
down into Zambia from southern DRC and contains major deposits of copper,
cobalt, and other minerals. Zambia also has substantial hydroelectric
potential. The Kariba Dam on the Zambezi River is the country's main
power source. Zambia shares the Kariba system with Zimbabwe. Other stations
on the Lunsemfwa and Mulungushi rivers serve Kabwe. Installations have
also been built on the Kafue River. In 1998 the total output of electricity
was 8.2 billion kilowatt-hours, nearly all of which was produced by
hydroelectric plants. Despite progress in privatization and budgetary
reform, Zambia's economy has a long way to go. The recent privatization
of the huge government-owned Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM)
should greatly improve Zambia's prospects for international debt relief,
as the government will no longer have to cover the mammoth losses generated
by that sector. Inflation and unemployment rates remain high, however.
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