Some fun facts about Zambia, with comparisons to the US for reference
Capital: Lusaka
Population: 14.3 million (12.9 million in Illinois)
Area: 290,587 square miles, slightly larger than the state of Texas
GDP per capita: $1,721 ($54,609 in the US)
Bordering countries: Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, Angola, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Language: the official language is English, but there are 73 languages spoken in Zambia. There are maybe 5 or 6 that PCVs learn, depending on where in the country they'll eventually end up. I won't know what language I'm going to be learning until I get there.
Independence: October 24, 1964 from the UK
Religion: 67.8% Protestant, 21.0% Catholic, 8.7% other Christian, 2.5% other or non-religious
Gini coefficient: 0.575 (0.486 in the US)
location of Zambia in sub-Saharan Africa
map of Zambia
Some health stats about Zambia, compared to the U.S. for reference
Life expectancy at birth: 55 (79 in the US)
HIV prevalence per 100,000: 7,204 (419 in the US)
Malaria incidence per 100,000: 25,242 (none in the US since 1951)
Under five mortality rate per 1,000 live births: 83 (8 in the US)
Percent of adult males with raised blood glucose: 7.2 (12.6 in the US)
Percent of adult males who are obese: 1.2 (30.2 in the US)
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