Zambia - Atlas of our Changing Environment

2 C H A P T E R In 2012 the country’s population was 13,092,666 of which 51 per cent were female. Although 61 per cent of Zambia’s population reside in rural areas, migration to urban areas is high (CSO 2012). Lusaka, Zambia’s capital city has the largest population growth rate in the country. Over the years, changes have occurred to the biodiversity, water-based ecosystems and the general landscape of the country due to a number of drivers among them population growth, economic, natural and anthropogenic activities. Indigenous forests are estimated to account for 66 per cent of the total land cover (FAO 2008). The main source of energy is woodfuel, accounting for 80 per cent of domestic energy (ECZ 2008). Other sources of energy are electricity, biofuels and fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal. Zambia’s energy consumption has risen over the last few years as a result of increasing activities in economic sectors among them mining, construction, manufacturing and agriculture.

Zambia’s Changing Environment

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