The population of Zambia is growing rapidly

The current Zambian population is Approximately 13,881,336.

Zambia is one of the most highly urbanized countries in sub-Saharan Africa with 44% of the population concentrated in a few urban areas along the major transport corridors, while rural areas are sparsely populated. The population comprises approximately 72 ethnic groups, most of which are Bantu-speaking.Almost 90% of Zambians belong to the nine main ethnolinguistic groups: Lamba, Chewa, Bemba, Tonga, Tumbuka, Lunda, Luvale, Kaonde, Nkoya and Lozi. In the rural areas, each ethnic group is concentrated in a particular geographic region of the country and many groups are very small and not as well known. However, all the ethnic groups can be found in significant numbers in Lusaka and the Copperbelt.

While it cannot be possible to know exactly how many people there are in the world, the number is estimated to have reached around seven billion. Zambia has one of the fastest growing populations in the world with many busy maternity wards. One of the busiest is the United Teaching Hospital in Lusaka where they deliver at least 50 babies a day. This means that there is enormous pressure on the maternity unit in the capital, where many people are moving because of jobs. Every year, this number rises, but the resources of the hospitals over here cannot grow at the same rate.

While the average number of children that a woman will have during her lifetime has fallen from five children to two and a half since 1950, in Zambia the number has remained at six for the last few decades. While many families in Zambia who are likely to be living in poverty will have many children, families in some other countries feel no such need and usually have two or three children, that they can still look after and still be able to relax from time to time playing party poker. The high number of pregnancies in Zambia is also due to a lack of knowledge about contraception. There are various myths that prevent people from feeling comfortable using it, meaning that the number of pregnancies is very high.

These myths tend to outweigh the fact that contraception is free and one such misconception is the idea that the implant will move around the body and cause harm. A lot of women also think that the pill will cause permanent infertility and mean that they will not be able to have children again. On a basic level, it is a matter of education, so that people can be properly informed about the reality of contraception.

Population of major cities