Zambia is a landlocked country the size of France and situated in Central Africa. The country is surrounded by eight other countries, Tanzania in the northeast, then Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, Angola and the DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo). Zambia, once called Northern Rhodesia, became independent from Britain in 1964 and took its name from the Zambezi River, which flows along its southern and southeastern borders. Lowering copper prices and a long drought hurt the economy badly in the 1980s and 1990s. The economy still revolves around copper; higher commodity prices and private investment following privatization seem to have helped the industry. Tourism has benefited from the economic collapse of Zimbabwe brought on by gross mismanagement. The tourism industry is now beginning to thrive in safaris and the Victoria Falls. The greater part of Zambia’s population gets by on subsistence farming.

There are 73 tribes speaking more than 42 dialects/languages in Zambia (the official language is English), but the country has been spared the inter-tribal strife that has torn apart countries like Rwanda in the North. The population approaches 10 million in a country slightly larger than the state of Texas. There are two major river basins in the country, the Zambezi River Basin, which drains the southern part of the country, and the Congo River Basin in the North. A major geographical feature in the southeast of the country is the magnificent Victoria Falls, over a mile wide with a drop of 100 metres. Further downstream from the Falls is Lake Kariba, which forms the boundary with Zimbabwe.

Nearly three quarters of Zambia’s population live below the recognized poverty line, and there is a 17% occurrence of HIV/AIDS in the country. Nearly one million Zambians are HIV positive or have AIDS. An estimated 100,000 died of the epidemic in 2004 and over a half-million Zambian children have been orphaned. Life expectancy at birth is just under 40 years. The Zambian government is pursuing an economic diversification programme to reduce the economy's reliance on the copper industry. This initiative seeks to exploit other components of Zambia's rich resource base by promoting agriculture, tourism, gemstone mining, and hydroelectric power.

Although Zambia is within the tropics, because of its landlocked and elevated position it does have three distinct seasons:
Dry season — May to August. This is the coolest time of the year, with temperatures 24-28°C during the day and as low as 7°C at night. This is probably the best time of year to visit Zambia: come early in the dry season for birdwatching or to see Victoria Falls at their best, or later when the bush has dried up for some excellent game-spotting on safari.
Hot season — September to November. Temperatures rocket up to a scorching 38-42°C. If you can take the heat it's a good time for safaris as wildlife gather around the few remaining watering holes.
Wet season — December to April. Temperatures cool down to 32°C and there is plenty of rain — sometimes just an hour or two, sometimes for days on end. Dirt roads become impassable muddy nightmares, and many safari lodges close.

These temperatures are for the lowland valleys where most of Zambia's population and national parks are situated. If you're going to the plateaus, temperatures will be around 5°C lower.