POPULATION STUDIES IN ZAMBIA

Learning outcomes: Learners should be able to

 Define population concepts
 Describe the size and growth of Zambia’s population between 1963 and 2000 and
beyond
 Identify factors responsible for rapid population growth
 Describe the factors influencing population distribution
 Discuss the national population structure and its implications
 Discuss the implications of rapid population growth
 Explain the measures to address population problems
 Discuss the causes, problems and possible solutions of internal migration in Zambia
 Analyse government population policy
DEFINITION OF POPULATION CONCEPTS
a) Population – The number of people living in an area at a given point in time
b) Census – This is the official counting all the people in the country
c) Natural Increase – This is an increase as a result of an increased birth rate
d) Birth rate – The number of births per 1000 people per year in the population
e) Death rate – The number of people who die in a year out of every 1000 people
f) Migration – is the movement of people from one place to the other
g) Immigration – The movement of people into a country for settlement
h) Emigration - Process of leaving one country to take up residence in another
i) Fertility rate – The average number of children that are born alive to a woman
during her lifetime if she were to pass through her child bearing years (15 to
49)
j) Optimum Population – This is the size of population which is felt to be the
most desirable for the full utilisation of its natural resources and which
produces the highest standard of living
k) Over Population – is when a country or an area has a higher population than
its natural resources can adequately support
l) Under population – This is a situation where the population is too small for the
full utilisation of the natural resources OR where a high population could be
supported without any fall in living standards
m) Dependency ratio – This is the number of dependants( below 15 years and 65
years and above) per every 100 economically active persons who fall in the
range 15 to 64 years
n) Population Explosion – A situation that describes the rapid population growth
when birth rate is much higher than death rate
o) Population Structure
p) Population Pyramid – Is the diagram that shows the structure of population in
terms of sex and age
q) Population density – The number of people living a square kilometre of land
r) Population distribution – how people are spread over an area
s) Urbanisation – The increase of a country’s population percentage living in
urban areas/towns
 t) Life Expectancy – This is the average number of years a person is expected to
live from birth to death
u) Mortality rate – The number of deaths in a given population
v) Infant mortality rate – The number of children who die under one year per
1000 live births
w) Sex ratio – The average number of males per 100 females in a given
population
x) Brain drain – The migration of a significant proportion of a country’s highly
skilled, highly educated professionals usually to other countries offering better
economic and social opportunities such as medical doctors leaving to work in
developed countries
ZAMBIA’S POPULATION
 Population size – This is roughly 14 million showing an inctease from
2010 census which showed a total of about 10 million people
 On average the Zambian population grows by 3.2% with death rate
dropping to 1.3%
 Zambia’s population is counted using the following:
I. Registration of births, death and marriages
II. National census every ten years. Census determines the
employment status, provision of services and many others
III. National registration of people over 16 years
IV. Registration of pupils and students in learning institutions
FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RAPID POPULATION GROWTH
 High fertility rate of at least 6 children per woman
 Early/unwanted pregnancies among young girls
 Desire for large families among village communities
 High standard of living promote long life
 Expanded access to health services leads to high rate of child survival
 Early marriages leads to women having many children by the age of 45
 Traditional beliefs such as children are a source of wealth
 Religious beliefs that do not advocate for family planning
 Polygamous practises which lead to many children per family
 Low death rate due to better nutrition, better health facilities
 Migration of people to certain areas such as movement from rural to urban areas
PROBLEMS OF RAPID POPULATION GROWTH
 Shortage of medical facilities resulting into high infant, child and maternal mortality
rates
 Increase in primary and secondary age means more resources are required for the
provision of education at both levels
 Some children who cannot be absorbed into the school system become street kids
 There is shortage of accommodation resulting into creation of shanty compounds
 Many people have less or no access to services such as piped water and proper
sanitation
 High levels of unemployment because the government cannot create enough jobs
 High levels of crime such as theft, drug abuse, drug selling and prostitution
 In urban areas population growth leads to shortage of land
MEASURES TO ADRESS RAPID POPULATION GROWTH
 Promotion of family planning by allowing use of contraceptives
 Legalising abortion under regulated conditions which are in line with the laws of the
country
 Through delayed marriage and the control of births within marriages
 By encouraging girl child education up to tertiary level where statistics show that the
average fertility rate is 2.8 children per woman
 By providing wage employment for women aged 15 – 49 years
 By reducing poverty levels so that parents stop relying on their children for support in
old age
 Promotion of morality among citizens to avoid unacceptable behaviour such as rape
and defilement
 By having more people leave Zambia than the people coming to settle in Zambia
(more emigrants than immigrants)
 Offering incentives to families which have fewer children such as child allowance,
education allowance, lower marriage tax
ZAMBIA’S NATIONAL POPULATION STRUCTURE AND ITS
IMPLICATIONS
 Population structure is the composition of females, males and babies in an
area/country
 The population structure has a very young population. A young population is one with
a relatively high proportion of children, adolescents and young adults with a low
median age
 This type of population has a high potential growth known as in – built population
momentum
 The population has also recorded an increase in death rate as a result of HIV/AIDS.
This has affected almost all age groups especially the youth
 It has reduced life expectancy to above 45 from 57 years
 There are more females than males above the age of 45
 The dependency ratio is higher than the economically active ( between 15 to 64 years)
 The age – sex structure is the composition of population determined by the number of
males or females in each age group. The number of males and females can be
presented in an age sex pyramid
ZAMBIA’S POPULATION PYRAMID 2013

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE POPULATION REFLECTED BY THE

PYRAMID
 It has a large population between the ages of 0-14 years
 The population structure has a relatively small population for the elderly above 65
 There are more birth rates since the largest population is found among the age groups
0-14 years
 The largest population is youthful for example 0-35 years
 There are more females than males above the age of 45
 Life expectancy for both males and females is low for example below 60
 Life expectancy for women is slightly higher than for men
 The dependency ratio is higher than the economically active( between 15 to 65 years )
POPULATION DISTRIBUTION
 Population distribution is how people are spread over an area. On average Zambia is a
very sparsely populated country. This means that there are few people living in a
given area. However, there are some densely populated areas with more people
FACTORS INFLUENCING POPULATION DISTRIBUTION
a) RELIEF FEATURES
 The presence of valleys and plateaus affect population distribution. Very few people
live in hilly areas and rift valleys because these places are mostly composed of stony
soils which are not suitable for farming
 Most people live on relatively flat land. For example areas around the line of rail are
densely populated while places like the Zambezi and Muchinga escarpments are
sparsely populated
b) CLIMATE
 Most people in Zambia have settled where climate is favourable. Such areas
receive adequate rainfall and temperatures are moderate. Most lowlands in
Zambia have low rainfall and high temperatures and therefore very few people
live there.
 Lowland areas are also infested with tsetse flies and have ended up being
national parks.
 More people have settled along the line of rail, Mkushi farming block because
they have favourable climate
c) AVAILABILITY OF WATER
 Availability of water bodies attract people for they need fresh water for
drinking, washing and other economic activities. Areas like Mweru – wa –
ntipa, Bangweulu have attracted people due to fishing and other activities
d) SOILS
 Fertile soils attract people for farming. Areas from Zimba to kabwe, around
Mkushi and parts of Eastern province have fertile soils and hence have
attracted people to settle there
e) SOCIO - ECONOMIC FACTORS
 Some areas attract a number of people due to the economic activities that take
place in these areas. For example along the line of rail, there is a concentration
of manufacturing industries and commercial farms hence people go there to
look for employment. Mining and other industries on the copper belt have also
attracted a large number of people
f) POLITICAL FACTORS
 Government policy on the development areas determine population
distribution. For instance settlement patterns were to a large extent determined
by the colonialists who came up with administrative boundaries. Certain areas
were reserved as forests or game areas as such the areas have very few people.
PATTERN OF POPULATION DISTRIBUTION IN ZAMBIA
A. DENSELY POPULATED AREAS
 Copper belt, Livingstone, Lusaka and Kabwe has about 40% of the country’s
population
REASONS
 Mining provide employment
 Fertile soil for agriculture
 Good transportation network such as rail and road
 Lusaka is the capital city and route centre
 Availability of manufacturing industries that offer employment
 Availability of social services such as schools
 Moderate rainfall (600 to 1200 mm ) and favourable temperature ( 18 to 24 c)
favour agriculture
 Livingstone is a tourist capital and a trade centre
B. SPARSELY POPULATED AREAS
These include parts of North western province, middle kafue valley and
Luangwa valley
REASONS
 Limited agricultural development due to droughts and sandy soils
 It has few or no manufacturing industries to attract people for employment
 Poor transport network for example lack of proper roads and railway line
 It has poor climatic conditions such as high temperatures and low rainfall
 Some parts are infested with tsetse flies for example Kafue national park and
Luangwa national park
 Most of the areas are occupied by the national park for example Luangwa
game park and Kafue national park occupies a large part of it so settlement is
restricted
C. MODERATELY POPULATED AREAS
These areas have average population and they include Eastern province, upper
Zambezi, Luapula, Mongu and other areas’
REASONS
 Moderate rainfall and temperatures for settlement and agriculture
 Fertile soils especially in the flood plains and plateau attract farmers
 Good and availability of pasture for animals
 Luapula and upper Zambezi are good fishing grounds
 Towns such as Mongu, Chipata are administrative centres
 Availability of transport especially to provincial capitals such as Chipata
 Some of the towns are route centres for example Mpulungu and nakonde
MIGRATIONS
This refers to the movement of people from one area to another with the
aim of settling there. Migration can result in either increase or decrease in
population of a particular area. There are two main categories of population
migrations experienced in the world namely: International and internal
migration
I. International Migration – This is when people move across borders
II. Internal Migration – This refers to the movement of people from one place to
another within the boundaries of individual countries
 PATTERNS OF INTERNAL MIGRATION IN ZAMBIA
1. RURAL – URBAN MIGRATION
This is the movement of people from rural areas (village) to urban areas
(towns and cities). The cause of this type of migration are push (in rural) and
pull (urban) factors:
Pull Factors
 Better employment opportunities in industries in towns
 Availability of social services and facilities in urban areas
 High standard of living ( better food, good houses, entertainment) in
urban areas
 Trade and commercial opportunities attract people to come to urban
areas
Push Factors
 Low productivity of agricultural land due to over cultivation
 Threats of witchcraft in rural areas
 Land disputes in rural areas
EFFECTS OF RURAL – URBAN MIGRATION IN RURAL AREAS
 There is shortage of labour force since the able bodied young men
and women have left the villages
 Rural areas are occupied by very old and the very young people
 There is low agricultural productivity leading to starvation
 There is greater illiteracy since the educated people have left the
rural areas. Ignorance has bearing on health, sanitation and hygiene
of the rural people
 Rural areas become more and more unattractive to investment as
they have a shortage of educated young people
EFFECTS OF RURAL – URBAN MIGRATION IN URBAN
AREAS
 Causes high levels of unemployment since population growth
cannot match economic development
 Raises the dependency ratio to unmanageable proportions
 Contributes to greater shortage of social services such as water
supply, education, health care, entertainment facilities and sports
facilities
 Shortage of official housing units leads to development of shanty
compounds and squatter settlements
 There is overcrowding in shop corridors and streets by street kids
and loiters
 There is increase in street vending due to shortage of spaces in the
markets
 There is noise and environmental pollution due to large crowds in
city centres and market places
 Leads to increase in crimes such as theft, burglary, drug abuse,
murder, prostitution, defilement and drug trafficking
 Disease outbreaks such as cholera, diarrhoea, typhoid and many
others
 Poor sanitation and land pollution due to poor waste management
 Urban sprawl creates land shortage in urban areas
GOVERNMENT EFFORTS TO DISCOURAGE RURAL –
URBAN MIGRATION
 Encouraging farming co – operatives
 Promoting farming resettlement schemes such as Kanakantapa
 Building large scale industries in rural areas for example Luangwa
bicycle plant (Chipata)
 Introducing Small scale Industries Development (SIDO) and Village
Industries (VIS) in rural areas
 Improving rural transport and communication such as mobile
phones
 Building more schools and clinics in rural areas
 Developing rural areas for example rural electrification
2. URBAN – RURAL MIGRATION
Movement of people from urban areas to rural areas
REASONS
 Desire to invest on farming in rural areas
 Desire to re-join family members at old age/retirement
 Stiff competition in business and life in urban areas
 Opening up of mining activities and farming schemes in rural areas
 Desire to live more peaceful life in rural areas
 Establishment of trading centres in rural areas
 Rural electrification has hit up the country side
3. URBAN – URBAN MIGRATION
Movement of people from one town to another

REASONS
 Seizing employment opportunities in other towns
 Closure of some industries/companies in some towns
 Opening up of mining activities in some towns such as Solwezi
 General expansion of business undertakings such as tourism in
Livingstone
 Booming business opportunities in some towns
4. RURAL – RURAL MIGRATION
Movement of people from one rural area to another
REASONS
 Existence of agricultural opportunities in other parts of the country for
example Munkochi
 Threats of witchcraft in some villages
 Hunger and drought on some parts of the country
 Family conflicts causing one family to migrate from one area to
another
 Soil exhaustion has made people to migrate to areas with fertile soils
NATIONAL POPULATION POLICY
The overall goal of the national population policy in Zambia is to
improve the standard of living and quality of life of the Zambian
people. To achieve the national population goals, the following
objectives were formulated: TO
 Ensure that population and other related emerging concerns are
continuously integrated in the planning and implementation process at
all levels
 Ensure that all people have basic right to information so as to decide
freely and responsibly the number of children and spacing for their
children
 Reduce maternal, infant and child mortality rates
 Reduce the incidence and infection rates of HIV/AIDS, sexually
transmitted diseases and other major killer diseases such as TB and
malaria
 Advocate for and promote sustainable exploitation of resources,
infrastructure and social services in order to create employment
opportunities and improve living standards particularly in the rural
areas
 Promote greater participation in decision making among leaders and
general public regarding population issues as they relate to gender,
environment and development issues at all levels
 Advocate for increased enrolment and retention of school going pupils
especially girls at all levels