🇿🇲 Zambia
Lusaka
Lusaka (population 3.3 million in the city proper, 4.7 million in the metropolitan area) is the capital and largest city of Zambia — the most rapidly growing capital city in southern Africa and one of the fastest-growing cities on the continent. Lusaka was a small railway siding settlement (established 1905 on the Cape to Cairo Railway of Cecil Rhodes) that replaced Livingstone as the capital of Northern Rhodesia in 1935 (the British colonial administration moved the capital inland for reasons of centrality and the availability of groundwater). Zambia is the most copper-dependent economy in the world (copper accounts for approximately 70% of Zambia's export earnings; Zambia is the world's 7th largest copper producer (approximately 800,000 tonnes/year)); the copper economy created both Lusaka's dramatic post-independence growth and its persistent vulnerability to copper price cycles. The city has a remarkably young population (the median age in Zambia is 17 — the youngest in the world; 50% of Lusaka's population is under 18) and a vibrant arts and music scene (the Lusaka music scene: Afropop, Zambian hip-hop (the 'Zed' music scene), and Zambian Copperbelt kalindula (the traditional music of the Copperbelt)). Zambia's exceptional wildlife heritage (Kafue National Park — the largest national park in Zambia and the third-largest in Africa (22,400km²) — is within day-trip range of Lusaka; the South Luangwa National Park (the best game park in Zambia) is accessible from Lusaka by air). Best months: May–October.