Eastern Province

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. The Eastern province has an area of about 51,476 km (19,875 sq mi), locally shares border with three other provinces of the country and is divided into fifteen districts. As per the 2010 Zambian census, the Eastern Province had a population of 1,592,661, accounting to 12.16% of the total Zambian population. The sex ratio was 1,030 females for every 1,000 males. The Chewa, Tumbuka and Nsenga people are the largest communities in the region. Chichewa and Chitumbuka are the most widely spoken languages. On the tourism front, the province has four national parks. The province has several significant traditional ceremonies such as Zengani, Vimkakanimba, Nc'wala and Kulamba. 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.

History