At independence Zambia had one of the most poorly developed education systems of Britain’s former colonies, with just 109 university graduates and less than 0.5 percent of the population estimated to have completed primary education. Among these, African women were almost entirely absent. The country has since invested heavily in education at all levels. Compulsory primary education begins at seven years of age and lasts for seven years. Secondary education is divided into two cycles, the first lasting two years and the second lasting three years. More than two-thirds of adult Zambians are literate, although the rates of literacy are significantly higher among men than among women.

The University of Zambia was opened in Lusaka in 1966 and graduated its first students in 1969. The university offers courses in agriculture, education, engineering, humanities and social sciences, law, medicine, mining, natural sciences, and veterinary medicine. The basic program is four years, although engineering and medical courses are of five and seven years’ duration, respectively. Copperbelt University, formerly a part of the University of Zambia, achieved independent university status in 1987 and is located at Kitwe. It offers courses of study within its business, built-environment, natural resources, and technology schools. The language of instruction for both universities is English.

Other tertiary-level institutions are vocationally focused and include the Evelyn Hone College of Applied Arts and Commerce and the Natural Resources Development College, both in Lusaka, and the Zambia College of Agriculture and Northern Technical College, located in Monze and Ndola, respectively.

Cultural milieu

Since the 1950s the Zambian cultural scene has been transformed by large-scale urbanization and exposure to exotic influences from Europe, the Americas, and other parts of Africa. The popularity of soukous dance hall music from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for example, has overwhelmed interest in indigenous music. Foreign aid in the form of second-hand Western clothing (called salaula) has had a negative effect on the domestic clothing industry.

With the object of preserving cultural diversity, government initiatives have led to the revival of many traditional ceremonies. Some, such as the kuomboka of the Lozi—a now-ceremonial trip to higher ground (the “flood capital”) from the Zambezi floodplain during the river’s annual flood—survived essentially unchanged; others have taken up new forms.

Daily life and social customs

Zambians still value traditional communal ideals such as reciprocity within a household, the extended family, the neighbourhood, the clan, and a formal political system of chieftainship. Changes in the modern arena have been too uneven to reduce Zambians’ dependence on one another, so they often exercise umucinshi, a Bemba term for mutual respect, when negotiating favours.

As a predominantly Christian country, Zambia marks the celebration of the Christian holidays of Good Friday, Easter, and Christmas. Independence Day is observed on October 24, and a variety of other holidays—such as Youth Day, Heroes Day, Unity Day, and Farmers’ Day—take place throughout the year. Additional feasts and festivals unique to various ethnic groups are also celebrated.

The arts

Traditional Zambian art consists chiefly of wood carving (most often practiced by men), pottery making (usually practiced by women), and basket weaving (practiced by both genders). Among musical instruments, drums are the most widely used, but there also are stringed bows, flutes, horns and pipes, xylophones, bells, rattles, and the kalimba, or African piano, made of strips of steel attached to a small board and vibrated by the fingers. Music, dancing, and song are used in tribal rituals and celebrations and are connected with good health, prosperity and security, or with the cycle of birth, marriage, and death. Music, as in many other countries, is used for entertainment as well and varies in form among ethnic groups.

Various types of theatre have flourished. In the last years of colonial rule, dance drama was developed for nationalist ends; the Chikwakwa Theatre, based at the University of Zambia, pioneered politically radical popular drama in the early years of independence. In the 1980s, aid agencies and other bodies promoted “theatre for development,” often unscripted and in vernacular languages, and government departments have used drama to communicate agricultural and health messages.

Cultural institutions

There is a national museum at Livingstone and another in Ndola, on the Copperbelt. The Moto Moto Museum at Mbala focuses on the traditions of the Bemba people, and there are small field museums at some national monuments. The country’s national archives are located at Lusaka, and there are public libraries located in Kitwe and Ndola. Relics of the country’s past are the concern of the Commission for the Preservation of Natural and Historical Monuments and Relics. The National Dance Troupe performs the traditional dances of many groups. In 2005 the Gule Wamkulu—a ritual dance performed at initiation ceremonies, funerals, and other important occasions—and the Vimbuza Healing Dance were both designated UNESCO Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.