Located in the Southern Africa Sub-region, Zambia is a landlocked country covering an area of 752,614 km2. It is bordered by Tanzania (in the North), Malawi (in the East), Mozambique (in the South-East), Zimbabwe (in the South) Botswana and Namibia (in the South-West), Angola (in the West) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (in the North-West).

The climate of Zambia is tropical, characterized by humid subtropical or tropical wet and dry conditions, with small stretches of semi-arid steppe climate in the south-west and along the Zambezi valley. There are two main seasons, the rainy season (November to April) corresponding to summer, and the dry season (May/June to October/November), corresponding to winter. Average monthly temperatures remain above 20°C for most of the year.

The country has an estimated population of 12.2 million people and its annual population growth rate is estimated at 3.1 percent. About 46% of the population representing an active and productive workforce, are between 15 and 64 years of age. The population comprises approximately 72 ethnic groups, most of which are Bantu-speaking. Zambia also has a small but economically important Asian population, most of whom are Indians. The predominant and official national religion is Christianity.

Zambia is a multi-party democratic country with a distinct separation of powers between the legislative (parliament), executive (cabinet) and judiciary (courts of law) organs of Government govern Zambia. Both the president (who must belong to a registered political party) and members of parliament are elected by the people. The president appoints cabinet ministers, from within elected and nominated members of parliament. The parliament, headed by the Speaker of the National Assembly, comprises 150 elected members and up to 8 members nominated by the president. The Supreme Court is the highest court of appeal and is headed by the Chief Justice.

Economic Review
The country’s economy has historically been based on the copper mining industry. However the Zambian government is undertaking economic diversification to reduce the economy's reliance on the copper industry and exploit other components of Zambia's rich resource base by promoting agriculture, tourism, gemstone mining, and hydro-power. To this effect Government has established liberalized market-led economic policies aimed at facilitating a private-sector-led economic development. Achieving targeted macroeconomic objectives is also on top of government agenda to ensure that economic diversification and expansion is attainable and sustained. The country’s macroeconomic objectives are to: achieve a real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of at least 5.0 percent, bring down inflation to 10.0 percent and limit the Government’s domestic borrowing to 1.8 percent of GDP.

The Ministry of Finance and National Planning is responsible for formulating and guiding the implementation of the country's economic policies, and for the development and administration of the national budget. It works closely with other government ministries and departments, and with donors and international agencies such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in implementing multi sectoral economic development and poverty alleviation programmes such as the Poverty Reduction and Growth facility, which commenced in 1999.

Major Imports and Exports
Zambia’s main export products are copper and cobalt. The country also has a number of non traditional exports including articles, ores, slag and ash, sugar and sugar confectionary, dairy products, bird’s eggs, natural honey, edible products, copper wire and electricity. The non traditional exports have become of increasing importance to the Zambia economy as the country strives to diversify from its dependence on copper and cobalt, increasing by 9.2 percent between 2006 and 2007 and by 12.2 percent between 2007 and 2008.

The major imports are mineral fuels, oils and product of their distillation. Other import products include boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances, parts, electrical machinery, equipment parts, fertilizers and ores.

Gross Domestic Product
The economy registered a real gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of 6.0% in 2008 (up from 5.2% in 2007). The main contributors to GDP, in 2008, were: agriculture (12.2%), mining (8%), manufacturing (10 %), and construction (11%). Growth sectors presently being promoted by the Government comprise the mining, agriculture, manufacturing, and tourism sectors. These sectors have experienced exponential growth in recent years, and are expected to continue this trend in future due to the numerous investment opportunities currently available in the country.