Country Description:

Zambia derived its name from the Zambezi River, which rises in the northwest and forms the country’s southern boundary. The landlocked country is home to just over 10 million people of whom 20% live in the capital city, Lusaka, while another 20% live in the Copperbelt region (north), leaving huge tracts of uninhabited land and resulting in one of the smallest land to person ratios in Africa.

Zambia is a country of tremendous diversity- ethnically, racially, linguistically and religiously. Such diversity provides a rich blend of values, norms, and cultural and spiritual traditions. Zambia's people belong to over 70 tribes including: Lozi, Bemba, Ngoni, Lunda, Luvale and Kaonde. Notably, Zambians have co-existed peacefully under the national moto "One Zambia, One Nation" since independence.

Zambia’s considerable mineral wealth includes: emerald, amethyst, garnet, tourmaline, citrine, malachite, agate, aquamarine, and others. The country holds 6% of the world's copper reserves. The wide range of cultivated crops includes: maize, tobacco, cotton, groundnuts, wheat, and rice. In addition, a variety of vegetables and citrus fruits, bananas, pineapples, mangoes, avocados, and grapes are also found. Coffee, tea, and sugarcane are also grown.

CARE International began operating in Zambia in January 1992 at the invitation of the Zambian government. Activities initially focused on emergency relief in response to the severe drought of the early 1990s, and on interventions to mitigate the effects of escalating inflation and extreme poverty in urban areas. The emphasis of programming has gradually shifted to long-term, community-based development.