Map of Zambia with regions and capitals

Regions of Zambia and their capitals

Zambia is divided into 10 provinces, each split into districts. Muchinga, in the northeast, is the newest, created in 2011, while the Copperbelt, on the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is the center of copper mining.

Blank and coloring maps of Zambia

Blank map of Zambia

Coloring map of Zambia

Geography of Zambia

Zambia covers about 752,618 km² (290,587 sq mi), and most of it is a high plateau of savanna and open woodland, cut by deep river valleys. The plateau rises toward the northeast, where the Mafinga Hills on the border with Malawi hold the highest point, Mafinga Central, at 2,339 m (7,674 ft). The Muchinga Mountains run along the edge of the wide Luangwa Valley, an offshoot of the East African Rift system. In the far west, near Angola, lie the flat floodplains of the upper Zambezi, known as the Barotse Plain.

The Zambezi River forms the southern border with Zimbabwe and plunges over Victoria Falls, called Mosi-oa-Tunya, the smoke that thunders, before filling Lake Kariba, a huge reservoir shared by the two countries. The Kafue and Luangwa rivers are major tributaries. In the north lie Lake Bangweulu and its swamps, Lake Mweru on the Congo border, and the southern tip of Lake Tanganyika. Thanks to its altitude, Zambia has a moderate tropical climate, with a hot dry season, a cool dry season and a rainy season from about November to April.

Fun facts

• Victoria Falls, on the border with Zimbabwe, is one of the largest waterfalls in the world by the width of its falling sheet of water.
• Lake Kariba is one of the largest artificial lakes in the world by volume.
• The Kazungula Bridge, opened in 2021, links Zambia and Botswana across the Zambezi River.

Countries bordering Zambia

• Angola
• Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Mozambique
• Malawi
• Namibia
• Tanzania
• Zimbabwe