Reliance on copper exports

Zambia is one of the top ten producers of copper.  The country’s economy is reliant on copper exports.  They attract 80 per cent of foreign earnings.

Zambia’s economy has grown by an average of nearly six per cent over the past decade.  This sustained period of growth is due to the mining sector.  Demand for materials like copper has been fuelled by the electronics industry.  Other minerals are also found in the country, including cobalt, gold, silver and iron ore.

Zambia is also recognised as a major source of precious stones, including emeralds, aquamarines, amethyst and tourmalines.

Zambia’s emerald deposits are among the world’s largest.  The green gem is mined near Luanshya and Ndola and is cut and polished locally.

Hydropower: a rich energy source

With its large rivers descending from the plateau through huge valley troughs, hydropower is a rich source of energy for the country.  Major hydro-electric plants are located in the Kafue Gorge, at Kariba and Victoria Falls.  But although power is relatively cheap and plentiful, only around a fifth of Zambians have access to electricity and just three per cent in rural areas.

The building of the Kariba dam was a great feat of engineering, requiring almost three million tonnes of concrete (enough for a road from Zambia to Russia). Completed in 1959, the resulting hydro-electric power has been important for the mining industry.  However, the creation of the vast Lake Kariba displaced more than 50,000 Tonga people.

Apart from mining-related activity, manufacturing in Zambia is limited.  Wage costs are high and services such as transport and banking are costly.

HIV/AIDS has stripped the country of many of its professionals, including engineers and civil servants.

As Zambia looks to diversify its economy, tourism and agriculture are becoming important.  With instability in Zimbabwe, more tourists are choosing Zambia as their base to see the Victoria Falls.

Agricultural crops exported

Agriculture still requires further investment and access to electricity in rural areas.   Crops like tobacco, sugar and maize, however, are exported in quantity and vegetables and flowers are increasingly grown for foreign markets.

In the North Western Province around Kabompo, hollow logs are suspended from trees.  They contain beehives.  Beekeeping is a tradition of this area. Honey and beeswax from more than 6,000 small producers is now sold through a central buyer.  Because of the wildness of the location, Zambia’s pure honey was the first to be certified as organic by the Soil Association.