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Zambia Rejoices Independence Day

Independence Day in Zambia is a public holiday.

Zambia Independence Day: October 24

Zambia Celebrates Independence Day as a National Holiday
Every year on October 24, Zambia celebrates its Independence Day in commemoration of the day it attained its freedom from British rule in 1964.

Zambia Independence Day History

In 1889, a treaty was signed between the Lozi overlord and a representative of the British South Africa Company in 1889 establishing British protection. Sir Harry Johnston added Eastern Zambia to Britain’s empire during his conquest of Nyasaland (now Malawi).

British administration in Zambia (then called Northern Rhodesia) was the same like its other African territories. A governor heads a small central council composed of Europeans appointed by the British government. The local rulers are allowed greater freedom under this system of indirect rule. In the late 1920s copper was discovered in the north, this development led to the extension of the railway and the building of the first smelting plants in the so-called copper belt. In 1939, Zambia had become a major producer of copper, and the urbanization of the northwest has begun. The arrival of European technicians and administrators to Zambia was brought about by the copper industry.

In 1953, the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, comprising the territories of Northern Rhodesia, Southern Rhodesia, and Nyasaland (now Malawi), was dominated by the white population of these territories. Every African politician in the state condemned the federation from its inception by. For Zambia, the path towards independence was more problematic than the other British African territories because the federation had to be broken first.

On 24 October 1964, Northern Rhodesia became the Republic of Zambia, with Kaunda as the first president.

Zambia Independence Day Traditions, Customs and Activities

A large parade in Lusaka marks the celebration of Zambia’s Independence from British rule.

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