Provinces of Zambia explained

Zambia is divided into ten provinces.^[1] The provinces are further subdivided into districts. The Provincial Administration is headed by a Provincial Minister, who is appointed by the President, and is responsible for overseeing the implementation of government policies and coordinating the activities of various government departments within the province. The Provincial Minister is supported by a Provincial Permanent Secretary, who handles the day-to-day administration. Each province has a Provincial Development Coordinating Committee (PDCC) that plays a key role in development planning and coordinating projects within the province.

The current provinces were established following Zambia's independence in 1964, although their borders and functions have evolved over time to support the country’s decentralization efforts.

List of provinces

Province[2]	Capital	Area (km2)[3]	Population (2022)	Density (people/km2)	Districts	Map
Central[4]		110,450	2,422,000	23.9	11
Copperbelt[5]		31,328	2,823,000	88	10
		98,877	2,603,000	35.6	15
		50,567	1,535,000	29.9	12
		23,490	3,287,000	140.1	6
Muchinga[6]	Chinsali[7]	70,405	926,000	13.1	8
Northern	Kasama	77,650	1,743,000	20.8	12
North-Western	Solwezi	125,826	1,350,000	10.1	11
		68,410	2,455,000	27.7	15
		126,386	1,378,000	10.8	16
Zambia	Lusaka	752,612	19,610,769	26.1	116

Administration

The provincial government in Zambia is primarily established for administrative purposes. Each province is headed by a Provincial Minister appointed by the President, who oversees the implementation of national policies and government programs at the provincial level. The administrative head of each province is the Provincial Permanent Secretary, also appointed by the President, who is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the province. Supporting the Permanent Secretary are the Deputy Permanent Secretary, heads of government departments, and other civil servants at the provincial level.

Provinces are further divided into districts, with 116 districts across the 10 provinces. Each district (except for Mafinga and Kanchibiya) shares its name with its headquarters. Within each district, there is a council headed by an elected representative known as a Councilor. Councilors hold office for five years and play a key role in local governance.

The administrative staff of the council is selected by the Local Government Service Commission, either from within or outside the district. The office of the provincial government is located in each district headquarters and includes provincial local government officers and auditors.

Each council is responsible for raising and collecting local taxes. These funds are crucial for the council's operations, which include maintaining infrastructure and delivering services. The council's budget is audited annually and submitted to the central government for review. Councilors do not receive salaries but are compensated with allowances funded by the council.

Zambia’s provinces are predominantly rural, with only five city councils, namely Lusaka, Ndola, Kitwe, Livingstone and Chipata. The Zambian government has outlined 63 different functions for the councils, focusing mainly on infrastructure management and local administration. These functions include maintaining community centers, parks, drainage systems, playgrounds, cemeteries, libraries, museums, and art galleries.

In addition to these responsibilities, councils collaborate with specific government departments to support agriculture, natural resource conservation, postal services, and the establishment and maintenance of hospitals, schools, and colleges. The councils also prepare schemes to encourage community participation and development at the local level.^{[8] [9]}

Primary data

Western Province is the largest in terms of area, having 126,386 km², while Lusaka was the smallest with 21,896 km². In terms of population, Lusaka is the most populated and most densely populated with a population of 2,191,225 and densf 100 persons per km². As of 2010, Western Province had the best sex ratio of 108 females for every 100 males, while Copperbelt had the lowest of 101. Northern had the highest number of basic schools, while Copperbelt had the highest number of high schools. The unemployment rate of youth (55%) and general unemployment rate (32%) was the highest in Copperbelt province, while Eastern had the lowest unemployment rate of 6 per cent. AIDS death was maximum in Copperbelt with 26,799 recorded deaths in 2010, while it was lowest in North-Western with 2,859 recorded deaths. Lusaka Province had the most doctors and fewest malaria related incidents, while North-Western has the lowest number of doctors.

Primary data of Zambia Provinces

Parameter	Year	Central[10]	Copperbelt[11]	Eastern[12]	Luapula[13]	Lusaka[14]	Muchinga Province[15]	Northern[16]	North-Western[17]	Southern[18]	Western[19]
Capital		Kabwe	Ndola	Chipata	Mansa	Lusaka	Chinsali	Kasama	Solwezi	Choma	Mongu
Provincial Minister	2022	Hon. Mwabashike Nkulukusa[20]	Hon. Elisha Matambo	Hon. Peter Phiri	Hon. Njavwa Simutowe	Hon. Sheal Mulyata	Hon. Henry Sikazwe	Hon. Leonard Mbao	Hon. Robert Lihefu	Hon. Credo Nanjuwa	Hon. Kapelwa Mbangweta
Land area, km2		94,394	31,328	51,476	50,567	21,896	87,806	77,650	125,826	85,283	126,386
Population, persons	2022	2,252,483	2,757,539	2,454,788	1,514,011	3,079,964	918,296	1,618,412	1,270,028	2,381,728	1,363,520
Population density, people per km2	2022	24	88	36	30	140	13	21	10	28	11
Sex Ratio (females per 100 males)	2010	102	101	103	103	102	103	102	103	104	108
Basic Schools	2004	653	856	861	527	502	No data	1,208	536	995	648
High Schools	2004	28	71	41	20	39	No data	26	23	45	26
Out of School Children Aged 7–15	2004	33,081	14,332	132,728	58,887	90,620	No data	22,348	26,834	30,390	36,984
Unemployment rate (%)	2008	9	32	6	6	31	No data	7	14	7	10
Unemployment rate, Youth (%)	2008	18	55	12	14	52	No data	012	31	6	18
Doctors	2005	035	213	36	30	231	No data	40	25	50	46
Malaria Incidence rate per 1,000 population	2005	331	377	447	407	313	No data	331	439	344	430
AIDS Deaths	2010	9,016	26,799	9,338	5,209	15,429	No data	6,958	2,859	12,403	6,044

Economy

Agriculture is the major profession in most of the provinces in Zambia. Maize, mixed beans, rice, sorghum, soya beans, sunflower, sweet potatoes and wheat are the major crops in the provinces. Among all provinces, Central had the maximum area, 391593.23ha, constituting 20.64 per cent of the total, while Luapula had the smallest area at 3.06 per cent. Maize production was maximum in Eastern (22.5%), mixed beans (51.66%) in Northern, sorghum in Southern (40.62%), sunflower in Eastern (70.2%), soya beans (45.06%), sweet potatoes (28.5%) and wheat (49.51%) in Central Province.^[21]

Agriculture data of Zambia Provinces in 2014

Paramaeter	Central	Copperbelt	Eastern	Luapula	Lusaka	Muchinga Province	Northern	North-Western	Southern	Western
Area Planted (HA)	391,593.23	122,525.52	387,273.09	57,966.31	82,603.72	112,345.23	191,104.56	79,528.80	360,160.32	112,153.47
Maize Production	723,760.85	235,415.71	745,580.30	131,746.91	148,290.62	244,978.50	283,755.88	160,866.33	597,999.41	78,276.86
Mixed Beans Production	5,316.43	1,213.88	2,794.77	4,130.48	673.80	9,277.33	31,898.08	4,446.71	1,685.30	312.13
Rice Production	017.85	004.24	900.37	2,254.43	036.53	6,928.63	18,169.24	445.61	021.22	20,861.51
Sorghum Production	452.85	587.45	200.49	105.83	320.21	3,118.55	283.55	1,038.13	4,694.90	755.44
Soya Beans Production	96,518.03	37,609.86	17,534.11	430.00	32,237.44	2,245.70	4,742.11	579.67	22,203.88	077.92
Sun Flower Production	2,872.09	028.67	24,053.17	005.58	049.21	432.17	764.17	014.86	6,042.08	001.66
Sweet Potatoes Production	42,787.85	11,603.63	7,842.74	11,356.02	4,689.72	18,151.34	11,636.01	8,200.76	31,048.67	2,841.24
Wheat Production	99,758.27	28,690.00	120.00	000.00	48,509.73	000.00	000.00	000.00	24,426.13	000.00
Grand Total	971,484.23	315,153.44	799,025.94	150,029.26	234,807.26	285,132.23	351,249.04	175,592.09	688,121.60	103,126.75

Maize Production 2022/2023 Trade Year^[22] !!Central!Copperbelt!Eastern!Luapula!Lusaka!Muchinga!Northern!North-Western!Southern!Western!Total

Area Harvested	266,864	109,399	272,019	67,117	66,765	84,533	152,028	77,014	235,349	87,282	1,418,370
Production (MT)	681,913	317,771	544,303	174,106	138,395	258,318	376,133	225,296	448,479	96,971	3,261,685
Percentage Contribution	21%	10%	17%	5%	4%	8%	12%	7%	14%	3%	100%
Yield (MT/Ha)	2.6	2.9	2.0	2.6	2.1	3.0	2.5	2.9	1.9	1.1	2.3

Human Development

This is a list of 9 provinces by Human Development Index as of 2017.^[23]

Medium Human Development
Rank	Province	2017 HDI
1	Lusaka	0.672
2	Copperbelt	0.670
3	Southern	0.590
-| (average)|0.589|-|4|Central|0.572|-|5|North-Western|0.564|-! colspan="3" style="color:#900;" |Low Human Development|-|6|Northern|0.538|-|7|Western|0.531|-|8|Luapula|0.528|-|9|Eastern |0.507|} See also Districts of Zambia Subdivisions of Zambia References

Notes and References

1. News: Provinces of Zambia - Government of Zambia. 2023-09-01. Government of Zambia. 2024-09-02.
2. Web site: Zambia Provinces. Gwillim Law. 18 June 2015. (Population figures are from the census of 2022).
3. https://www.ilo.org/sites/default/files/wcmsp5/groups/public/@africa/@ro-abidjan/@ilo-lusaka/documents/genericdocument/wcms_888660.pdf 2022 Census of Population and Housing - Preliminary Report
4. Lusaka province was split from Central province in 1973. Initially Lusaka province was only 360 km², but by 1988 it had been enlarged to its present size.
5. The Copperbelt province was known as Western Province until 1969. At the same time the name of the Barotseland province was changed to Western province.
6. Created in November 2011, consisting of 5 districts from Northern Province and one from Eastern.
7. http://www.mlgh.gov.zm/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=73:zambias-10th-provincemuchinga&catid=1:latest&Itemid=60 Zambia's 10th Province, Muchinga, Ministry of Local Government and Housing, Zambia
8. Zambia Public Administration Country Profile. 7. Division for Public Administration and Development Management (DPADM), Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), United Nations. 2004 . 16 October 2016.
9. The local government system in Zambia. Commonwealth Local Government Forum. 218–220. 16 October 2016.
10. Web site: Primary Data of Central Province. 2011. 16 October 2016. Zambia data portal, Central statistical Office of Zambia.
11. Web site: Primary Data of Copperbelt Province. 2011. 16 October 2016. Zambia data portal, Central statistical Office of Zambia.
12. Web site: Primary Data of Eastern Province. 2011. 16 October 2016. Zambia data portal, Central statistical Office of Zambia.
13. Web site: Primary Data of Lauapula Province. 2011. 16 October 2016. Zambia data portal, Central statistical Office of Zambia.
14. Web site: Primary Data of Lusaka Province. 2011. 16 October 2016. Zambia data portal, Central statistical Office of Zambia.
15. Web site: Primary Data of Muchinga Province. 2011. 16 October 2016. Zambia data portal, Central statistical Office of Zambia.
16. Web site: Primary Data of Northern Province. 2011. 16 October 2016. Zambia data portal, Central statistical Office of Zambia.
17. Web site: Primary Data of North-Western Province. 2011. 16 October 2016. Zambia data portal, Central statistical Office of Zambia.
18. Web site: Primary Data of Southern Province. 2011. 16 October 2016. Zambia data portal, Central statistical Office of Zambia.
19. Web site: Primary Data of Western Province. 2011. 16 October 2016. Zambia data portal, Central statistical Office of Zambia.
20. Web site: Provincial Ministers National Assembly of Zambia . 2022-08-29 . www.parliament.gov.zm.
21. Web site: Agriculture statistics of Zambia 2014. Central Statistical Office of Zambia. 2016. 17 October 2016.
22. Web site: 13 July 2023 . Zambia Maintains its Status as a Net Exporter of Corn . 28 August 2023 . apps.fas.usda.gov.
23. Web site: Sub-national HDI – Area Database – Global Data Lab. hdi.globaldatalab.org. en. 2018-09-13.