White people in Zambia

Last updated
White people in Zambia
Total population
40,000 (0.3%)
Regions with significant populations
Lusaka and in the copperbelt
Languages
English, Afrikaans
Religion
Christianity, Judaism
Related ethnic groups
White people in Botswana, White people in Zimbabwe, White South Africans

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]

Contents

Background

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

Guy Scott Guy Scott.png
Guy Scott

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

White Population of Zambia, 1911–2015
GovernmentYearWhitesChangeNativesPercentage of Whites
British South

Africa Company

(1891–1924)

19111,497-n/an/a
19233,750+2,2531,753,000 [9] 0.2%
19244,000+250n/an/a
British

Protectorate of

Northern

Rhodesia

(1924–1953)

19254,624+624n/an/a
193113,846+9,222n/an/a
193210,553-3,293n/an/a
193311,278+725n/sn/a
193510,000-1,278n/an/a
194015,188+5,1882,099,000 [9] 0.7%
194318,745+3,537n/an/a
194521,371+2,626n/an/a
194621,919+548n/an/a
195137,221+15,302n/an/a
Federation of

Rhodesia and

Nyasaland

(1953–1963)

195460,000+22,779n/an/a
195664,800+4,800n/an/a
196076,000+11,2003,082,6272%
196175,000-1,0003,269,1512%
196374,000-1,0003,368,9612%
Republic of

Zambia

(1964–present)

196470,000 [10] -4,0003,472,8430.2%
196625,000-35,0003,692,4090.2%
197710,000 [7] -15,0005,288,8910.01%
201440,000 [7] +35,00014,950,5440.2%

See also

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References

  1. "The African Christian Diaspora: New Currents and Emerging Trends in World Christianity".
  2. Tembo, Felix (6 March 2019). A Guide to Agribusiness in Zambia.: Untapped Opportunities. ISBN   9781796019025.
  3. Kaplan, Irving. South Africa: A Country Study. p. 846.
  4. 1 2 Fischer & Morris-Jones 2012, pp. 206–207.
  5. 1 2 Southern Africa Political & Economic Monthly. Southern African Political Economy Series (SAPES) Publications Project. 1994.
  6. "Politics in Zambia". p. 355.
  7. 1 2 3 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.
  8. Zambia's Guy Scott makes history as white president in sub-Saharan Africa CNN. 29 October 2014
  9. 1 2 Morier-Genoud 2012, p. 196.
  10. "1964: President Kaunda takes power in Zambia". BBC. 25 October 1964. Retrieved 2015-09-02.

Further reading