Eastern Province, Zambia
| Eastern | |
|---|---|
| Province | |
Map of Eastern Province
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|
 Eastern Province showing its districts. |
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| Country |
 Zambia
|
| Capital | Chipata |
| Area | |
| • Total | 51,476 km2 (19,875 sq mi) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 1,592,661 |
| • Density | 31/km2 (80/sq mi) |
| Ethnic groups | |
| • Chewa | 39.7% |
| • Nsenga | 20.3% |
| • Tumbuka | 15.6% |
| • Ngoni | 15.3% |
| • Kunda | 3.3% |
| Languages | |
| • Chewa | 34.6% |
| • Nsenga | 21.4% |
| • Nyanga | 17.4% |
| • Tumbuka | 16.5% |
| • Ngoni | 4.6% |
Eastern Province is one of Zambia's ten provinces. The province lies between the Luangwa River and borders with Malawi to the east and Mozambique to the south, from Isoka in the northeast to the north of Luangwa in the south. The provincial capital is Chipata. Eastern province has an area of 51,476 km2 (19,875 sq mi), locally shares border with three other provinces of the country and is divided into eleven districts.
As per the 2010 Zambian census, Eastern Province had a population of 1,592,661, accounting to 12.16% of the total Zambian population. The sex ratio was 1,030 for every 1,000 males. As of 2010, Chewa was the largest community in the region with 39.7 per cent of the total population and Chewa was the most widely spoken language with 34.6 per cent speaking it. On the tourism front, the province has four national parks, while the Nc'wala festival celebrated in Chipata District by the Ngoni tribe during February is the most prominent festival in the province. Agriculture is the major occupation in the province which accounts for 20.41 per cent of the total area cultivated in Zambia. The province accounted for 19.61 per cent of the total agricultural production in the country with sunflower being the major crop. Chipata Airport and Mfuwe Airport are the two airports in the province.
The history of the province is centered around the Chewa people who under the rule of Kalonga Gawa Undi established a vast empire extending to modern day Central Malawi and the northeastern part of Tete Province in Mozambique. The chieftains of the empire exercised control over the territory in modern times. The most notable of them was Kalonga Gawa Undi X, whose regime started in 1954. By 1957, he joined Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula's political party that supported the British Colonial Empire. By the time he completed his European tour and returned to his province, nationalism had almost spread in the entire province. To avoid uprising, periodic fatalities and loyalty he enjoyed among masses, he supported the nationalist movement. After the independence of Zambia, during the 1960s, some of the districts in the province had unprecedented growth in infrastructure and agriculture. However, the growth of the province was terminated along with that of the country due falling copper prices.
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Wikipedia