Copperbelt Province
Copperbelt Province is a province in Zambia which covers the mineral-rich Copperbelt, and farming and bush areas to the south. It was the backbone of the Northern Rhodesian economy during British colonial rule and fuelled the hopes of the immediate post-independence period, but its economic importance was severely damaged by a crash in global copper prices in 1973. The province adjoins the Haut-Katanga province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is similarly mineral-rich.
Copperbelt | |
|---|---|
Province | |
Map of the Copperbelt Province showing its districts. | |
| Country | Zambia |
| Capital | Ndola |
| Government | |
| • Type | Provincial Administration |
| • Provincial Minister | Elisha Matambo (UPND) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 31,328 km2 (12,096 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1,216 m (3,990 ft) |
| Population (2022 census) | |
| • Total | 2,768,192 |
| • Density | 88/km2 (230/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 |
| HDI (2018) | 0.658 medium · 2nd |
| Website | www |
The main cities of the Copperbelt are Kitwe, Ndola, Mufulira, Luanshya, Chingola, Kalulushi and Chililabombwe. Roads and rail links extend north into the Congo to Lubumbashi, but the Second Congo War brought economic contact between the two countries to a standstill, now recovering.
It is informally referred to at times as 'Copala' or 'Kopala', invoking the vernacular-like term of the mineral copper that is mined in the province.