15
42% of the population does live in urbanized cities.
Expatriates living in the country are generally British
or South African. European descended Zambians
make up a total of 40,000 people living in Lusaka
and the Copperbelt region. They are often retired,
employed in mines, or work in the finance sector.
Zambia also boasts an economically important Asian
population. It is small, and many come from India.
Median age (2010)
total: 17.2 years
male: 17.1 years
female: 17.3 years
Sex ratio (2010)
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female
Life expectancy (2010)
total population: 52.03 years
male: 50.81 years
female: 53.28 years
GOVERNMENT
The government of Zambia is elected through a mul-
tiparty general election every five years. Before the
first multi-party elections were held in 1991, Kenneth
Kaunda ruled the country in a single-party system.
In 1991, the Movement for Multiparty Democracy
(MMD) gained a majority, which lasted until 2011
when the Patriotic Front (PF), under the leadership
of Michael Chilufya Sata, won the elections. In 2014,
Michael Sata passed away, and as required by the
Constitution, presidential elections were held 90
days after his death on 20 January 2015. PF won
the mandate to rule once again, though narrowly,
which will last until 2016, when the 5-year general
and Presidential elections will be held. The PF's eco-
nomic policy has been and continues to be centered
around moving Zambia from a centralized, state-
driven economy, to a more liberal private sector
driven by an open market economy.
The 1964 Constitution
After the federation was dissolved in 1963, the Zam-
bia Independence Order-in-Council of 1964 elected
to use a new constitution based on the Westminster
model. This was the country's first constitution, and it
established a multi-party system.
The 1967 referendum
and the 1973 Constitution
Increasing challenges from opposition parties to
Kaunda’s dominance over the country during the first
Republic eventually forced Kaunda to institutionalize
a one-party state as a way to prevent ethnic rivalries
and promote national unity. It was argued that the
elimination of political pluralism would lead to unity
and foster socio-economic development. In 1968,
a referendum was organized and four years after, a
Constitutional Review Commission (CRC), headed
by Vice President Mainza Chona, was established in
a move that opened the window for the institutional-
ization of single-party rule. The new constitution be-
came law in 1973, abolishing the multi-party system
and making the UNIP the only recognized party.
The 1991 Constitutional amendment
The legitimacy of the single-party rule came under
fire in the late 1980s and early 1990s, culminating
in the 1991 Constitution that re-introduced multiparty
politics.
By September 1990, President Kenneth D. Kaunda
appointed a Constitution Review Commission to
amend the constitution, and the commission ulti-
mately reworked the constitution to reinstate a multi-
party government. While there was not enough time
to complete a comprehensive review of the Constitu-
tion, the 1991 Constitutional Amendment was seen
as transitional instrument to answer the immediate
pressures of the time.
The 1996 Constitutional amendment
President Fredrick J.T. Chiluba renewed a search
for a lasting Constitution after the landslide victory
of the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD).
In 1993, President Chiluba appointed a Constitution
Review Commission, chaired by Mr. John Mwa-
nakatwe of the State Counsel (SC). Unfortunately,
the process failed to win popular support, and a
resulting constitutional amendment in 1996 was
considered to lack legitimacy, as most of the com-
mission’s recommendations presented in 1995 were
ultimately rejected by the government.
The 2003 Constitutional review
In 2003, Zambia began its fourth constitutional
General Information
