It has been suggested that this article be merged into White Africans of European ancestry. (Discuss) Proposed since October 2024. |
The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's general notability guideline. (August 2023) |
White people in Zambia or White Zambians are people from Zambia who are of European descent and who do not regard themselves, or are not regarded as, being part of another racial group. Many are of British ancestry and are descendants of people whom worked in the Copperbelt Province.[1]
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 40,000 (0.3%) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Lusaka and in the copperbelt[citation needed] | |
| Languages | |
| English, Afrikaans[citation needed] | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity, Judaism[citation needed] | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| White people in Botswana, White people in Zimbabwe, White South Africans |
Background
editThis section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2024) |
The first Europeans to discover Zambia were the Portuguese in the late 1700s.[2]
In the 1960s, White Zambians tended to favour white-minority rule in Rhodesia and the apartheid system in South Africa, although small numbers prevented them from establishing a similar form of government in Zambia. At the Copperbelt mines, 6,500 expatriate workers held South African citizenship. White Zambians made up the second-largest group of immigrants moving to South Africa by 1967, fearful of the changing political climate in Zambia.[3]
Between 1964 and 1972, white Zambians were disproportionately represented in the officer corps of the Zambian Defence Force.[4] Upon independence, most of the senior officer corps, including the chief of staff of the Zambian Army, were White Zambians.[4] By 1972, sufficient numbers of qualified black Zambian personnel had been trained to replace them, and many of the white senior officers retired.[5] For a number of years afterwards, white Zambians were explicitly barred from enlisting in the national military and received a blanket exemption from conscription.[5]
In 1966, Over half the whites lived on the Copperbelt, 18% lived in Lusaka, and some 95% lived in all near the line of rail from the Copperbelt to the Victoria Falls.[6]
Modern day
edit
This section needs additional citations for verification. (May 2024) |
In 2014, Zambia had a White population of European origin which numbered approximately 40,000.[7] Since independence, the community has never exceeded 1.1% of Zambia's population. Many long-term residents had voluntarily retained South African or British nationality. However, only about 40,000 hold Zambian citizenship. Guy Scott, a White Zambian citizen and former Vice President, became Acting President of Zambia after the unexpected death of President Michael Sata.[8] This made him the first head of state of European White descent in Africa since F. W. de Klerk in 1989, and the first-ever under a democratically elected government.[citation needed]
Population chart
edit| Government | Year | Whites | Change | Natives | Percentage of Whites |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| British South
Africa Company (1891–1924) |
1911 | 1,497 | - | n/a | n/a |
| 1923 | 3,750 | +2,253 | 1,753,000[9] | 0.2% | |
| 1924 | 4,000 | +250 | n/a | n/a | |
| British
Protectorate of Northern Rhodesia (1924–1953) |
1925 | 4,624 | +624 | n/a | n/a |
| 1931 | 13,846 | +9,222 | n/a | n/a | |
| 1932 | 10,553 | -3,293 | n/a | n/a | |
| 1933 | 11,278 | +725 | n/s | n/a | |
| 1935 | 10,000 | -1,278 | n/a | n/a | |
| 1940 | 15,188 | +5,188 | 2,099,000[9] | 0.7% | |
| 1943 | 18,745 | +3,537 | n/a | n/a | |
| 1945 | 21,371 | +2,626 | n/a | n/a | |
| 1946 | 21,919 | +548 | n/a | n/a | |
| 1951 | 37,221 | +15,302 | n/a | n/a | |
| Federation of
Rhodesia and Nyasaland (1953–1963) |
1954 | 60,000 | +22,779 | n/a | n/a |
| 1956 | 64,800 | +4,800 | n/a | n/a | |
| 1960 | 76,000 | +11,200 | 3,082,627 | 2% | |
| 1961 | 75,000 | -1,000 | 3,269,151 | 2% | |
| 1963 | 74,000 | -1,000 | 3,368,961 | 2% | |
| Republic of
Zambia (1964–present) |
1964 | 70,000[10] | -4,000 | 3,472,843 | 0.2% |
| 1966 | 25,000 | -35,000 | 3,692,409 | 0.2% | |
| 1977 | 10,000[7] | -15,000 | 5,288,891 | 0.01% | |
| 2014 | 40,000[7] | +35,000 | 14,950,544 | 0.2% | |
See also
edit
References
edit
- ^ Adogame, Afe (4 April 2013). The African Christian Diaspora: New Currents and Emerging Trends in World Christianity. A&C Black. ISBN 978-1-4411-3667-1.
- ^ Tembo, Felix (6 March 2019). A Guide to Agribusiness in Zambia.: Untapped Opportunities. Xlibris Corporation. ISBN 9781796019025.
- ^ Kaplan, Irving. South Africa: A Country Study. p. 846.
- ^ a b Fischer & Morris-Jones 2012, pp. 206–207.
- ^ a b Southern Africa Political & Economic Monthly. Southern African Political Economy Series (SAPES) Publications Project. 1994.
- ^ Tordoff, William (28 May 2021). Politics in Zambia. Univ of California Press. p. 355. ISBN 978-0-520-36377-9.
- ^ a b c Ahmed, Beenish (29 October 2014). "An African Country That's 0.3 Percent White Now Has A White President". thinkprogress.org. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
- ^ Zambia's Guy Scott makes history as white president in sub-Saharan Africa CNN. 29 October 2014
- ^ a b Morier-Genoud 2012, p. 196.
- ^ "1964: President Kaunda takes power in Zambia". BBC. 25 October 1964. Retrieved 2015-09-02.
- Fischer, Georges; Morris-Jones, W. H. (2012). Decolonisation and After: The British French Experience. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-136-27788-7.
- Morier-Genoud, Eric (2012). Sure Road? Nationalisms in Angola, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-22261-8.
Further reading
edit- Molteno, Robert; et al. (1974). Tordoff, William (ed.). Politics in Zambia. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-02593-6.
- Levinson, David (1998). Ethnic Groups Worldwide: A Ready Reference Handbook. Oryx Press. ISBN 978-1-57356-019-1.