General & Geography
According to COUNTRYAAH, the Republic of Zambia is a former colony of Great Britain in southern Africa.
The landlocked country has been independent since 1964, predominantly Christian and is now home to around 15 million inhabitants.
Zambia borders on Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The country lies on a plateau over 1000 meters high. However, this plateau is crossed by deep valleys in many places.
Zambia is therefore home to countless waterfalls, the most famous representatives of which are right on the border with Zimbabwe: the world-famous Victoria Falls.
19 national parks are distributed in Zambia, which is extremely popular not only for its walking safaris. The wildlife-rich parks include South Luangwa and North Luangwa, Kafue National Park and Lower Zambezi.
The economic heart of Zambia is the rapidly growing capital Lusaka in the south of the country.
The international airport is located around 20 kilometers away and is served daily via Johannesburg.
- Abbreviation Finder: Check to see national geography, brief history, society description, domestic politics, economy overview, and a list of widely used acronyms about Zambia.
Climate in Zambia
Zambia has a tropical, largely alternately humid climate. Due to the altitude, the climate is moderate and brings mild temperatures all year round. There are basically three seasons in Zambia: a cool dry season, a hot dry season and a hot, humid rainy season.
The so-called cooler dry season runs from May to August with daytime temperatures of around 24 to 27 ° C. The night values cool down to 6 ° C during this climatic period, so that appropriate clothing is particularly important for safaris in the early morning and late afternoon.
With the beginning of September the temperatures rise sharply and very often break the 30 degrees mark at lunchtime. This hot dry season lasts from the beginning of September to around mid- November, after which the increased humidity towards the end of November heralds the arrival of the rainy season.
In the north of Zambia, the humid, hot rainy season begins as early as October; in the south, the first heavy rains usually only occur in the first days of December. The rainy season runs throughout the country until April and is sometimes very uncomfortable, especially in the safari regions on the Zambezi and Luangwa.
Optimal travel time for the regions
In the following overview you can see the best travel time depending on the region (Zambia).
| Place | Best travel time |
| Lusaka | April, May, June, July, August, September and October |
| Kasama | May, June, July, August, September and October |
| Mongu | April, May, June, July, August, September and October |
| Victoria Falls | March, April, May, June, July, August and September |
Temperatures, precipitation, sunshine in Lusaka (Zambia)
| Jan | Feb | March | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
| Daytime temperature | 27 ° C | 27 ° C | 27 ° C | 27 ° C | 27 ° C | 24 ° C | 24 ° C | 27 ° C | 30 ° C | 32 ° C | 30 ° C | 28 ° C |
| Night temperature | 17 ° C | 17 ° C | 16 ° C | 14 ° C | 11 ° C | 8 ° C | 7 ° C | 9 ° C | 13 ° C | 16 ° C | 17 ° C | 18 ° C |
| Precipitation in mm | 224 | 173 | 90 | 19 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 85 | 196 |
| Rainy days | 13 | 12 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 13 |
| Hours of sunshine | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 6 |
| Sunrise | 5:50 | 6:05 | 6:10 | 6:15 | 6:20 | 6:30 | 6:35 | 6:25 | 6:00 | 5:40 | 5:25 | 5:30 |
| Sunset | 18:45 | 18:40 | 18:20 | 18:00 | 17:45 | 17:45 | 17:50 | 18:00 | 18:00 | 18:05 | 18:15 | 18:35 |
Temperatures
The annual average temperature in Lusaka is 20 ° C. For comparison: Munich reaches an average of 8.6 ° C, in Berlin it is 9.6 ° C. The warmest month is October (23.5 ° C), coldest month of June with averages of 15.4 ° C.
Precipitation
The annual precipitation is 810 mm on 60 days with precipitation. For comparison: In Munich, 967 mm, in Berlin 570 mm, precipitation is measured annually. The months of January and December are considered the rainy season, as more than 175 mm of precipitation can be expected per month. Overall, about 420 mm of precipitation can be expected in the rainy season. You cannot expect snow in any month in Lusaka.
Sunshine
As our climate table shows, September is the sunniest month with an average of 9.9 hours of sunshine per day. On average over the year the sun shines 8 hours a day. For comparison: In Munich and Berlin, the sun shines an average of 4.7 hours per day throughout the year.
