The area which is now the Republic of Zambia (formerly Northern Rhodesia) was initially inhabited by hunter-gatherer tribes for thousands of years and something of a crossroads in the migrations of Bantu and specifically Nguni peoples. This explains the fact that Zambia has nine major ethno-linguistic groups. There are 72 languages and 13 distinct additional dialects spoken in the country. Babel babble!

Numerous European traders found their way into the region in the early 1800s in search of ivory and slaves but the region was not colonised until the late 19th century when it would prove to be a major link in the expansionist plans of Cecil John Rhodes.

By 1964, when Zambia attained independence under Kenneth Kaunda, there were 70 000 British settlers living in Zambia and the copper mines in Zambia’s northern Copperbelt were producing significant amounts of the metal, but the copper price slumped in the early 1970s, leaving the newly independent country with a large gap in its finances.

After a decade of economic collapse in the 1990s, matters began to pick up in 2002 with a sudden surge in copper production and demand. The government is also diversifying and aims to reduce dependence in minerals by boosting investment in agriculture, tourism, gem-stone mining and hydro-electricity.

While not a sporting giant, Zambian independence took effect on the last day of the 1964 Summer Olympics, making it the only country to have entered the Olympics as one country and left it as another!