Endonym Atlas NAMES IN THEIR SCRIPTS
Country · ZM

Zambia in other languages: exonyms, Lusaka, flag and the ten provinces

Zambia is the Republic of Zambia in English, its official language, and Ichalo ca Zambia in Bemba, with the ISO codes ZM, ZMB and 894. Below are the name in 168 languages and variants, the capital Lusaka in 61, and the ten provinces with their capitals and codes.

Official languagesEnglish; seven regional languages: Bemba (ciBemba), Kaonde (chiKaonde), Lozi (siLozi), Lunda (chiLunda), Luvale (chiLuvale), Nyanja (chiNyanja) and Tonga (chiTonga)

Checked

ISO 3166-1alpha-2 · alpha-3 · numeric
Flag of Zambia
ratio 2:3
alpha-2
ZM
alpha-3
ZMB
numeric
894
Zambia English · Latin

Republic of Zambia

Zambia Bemba · Latin

Ichalo ca Zambia

Zambia Nyanja · Latin

Dziko la Zambia

Zambia Tonga · Latin

Cisi za Zambia

Zambia Lozi · Latin

Naha Zambia ye Ipusa

Zambia Kaonde · Latin

Kyalo kya Zambia

English
ZambiaRepublic of Zambia
Capital
LusakaLusaka

ISO 3166-1, checked 28 October 2026. Regional languages: Wikipedia's Languages of Zambia, checked 28 October 2026. Flag after the Wikimedia Commons drawing.

01 · Exonyms

Zambia in other languages: list of exonyms

Zambia in 168 languages and variants, grouped where the spelling is shared, with ISO 639-3 codes and romanisation
LanguagesISO 639-3NameRomanised
English, Aragonese, Asturian, Breton, Danish, Basque, Kven, Galician, Hungarian, Igbo, Interlingua, Indonesian, Italian, Javanese, Jersey Norman French, Latin, Ladin, Malagasy, Nahuatl, Dutch, Norwegian, Novial, Occitan, Polish, Romanian, Aromanian, Sicilian, Slovak, Spanish, Albanian, Swahili, Swedisheng / arg / ast / bre / dan / eus / fkv / glg / hun / ibo / ina / ind / ita / jav / jnf / lat / lld / mlg / nah / nld / nor / nov / oci / pol / ron / rup / scn / slk / spa / sqi / swa / sweZambiasame as written
Welsh, Estonian, Faroese, Finnish, West Frisian, Romansh, Saterland Frisian, Võro, German, Luxembourgish, Low Germancym / est / fao / fin / fry / roh / stq / vor / deu / ltz / ndsSambiasame as written
Lower Sorbian, Croatian, Upper Sorbian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Sloveniandsb / hrv / hsb / lav / lit / slvZambijasame as written
Czech, French, Franco-Provençal, Friuliances / fra / frp / furZambiesame as written
Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, Turkish, Zazaki, Kurmanji Kurdishkin / run / tur / zza / kurZambiyasame as written
Crimean Tatar, Gagauz, Karakalpakcrh / gag / kaaZambiya / ЗамбияZambiya
Bambara, Mauritius Creolebam / mfeZambisame as written
Catalan, Sardiniancat / srdZàmbiasame as written
Northern Sami, Tetumsme / tetZámbiasame as written
AfrikaansafrZambiësame as written
AzerbaijaniazeZambiya / ЗамбијаZambiya
BosnianbosZambija / Замбија / زامبٖىياZambija
CornishcorSambisame as written
EsperantoepoZambiosame as written
Scottish GaelicglaSaimbiasame as written
IrishgleAn tSaimbiasame as written
ManxglvYn Tambiasame as written
Haitian CreolehatZanbisame as written
IcelandicislSambíasame as written
LingalalinZambia, Zambisame as written
LatgalianltgZambejasame as written
MaltesemltŻambjasame as written
MoldovanmolZambia / ЗамбияZambia
MalaymsaZambia / زامبياZambia
Norman FrenchnrmZaumbiesame as written
PortugueseporZâmbiasame as written
QuechuaqueSambyasame as written
Kalderash RomanirmyZambiya / ज़ाम्बियाZambiya
SloviosloZambia / ЗамбиаZambia
SamogitiansmgZambėjėsame as written
SamoansmoSamepiasame as written
SomalisomSaambiyasame as written
SilesianszlZambjasame as written
TagalogtglSambiyasame as written
TongantonSemipiasame as written
TurkmentukZambiýa / ЗамбияZambiýa
UzbekuzbZambiya / Замбия / زەمبىيەZambiya
VietnamesevieDăm-bi-asame as written
VolapükvolSambänsame as written
WalloonwlnZambeyesame as written
WolofwolSaambisame as written
Abaza, Altai, Avar, Bulgarian, Khakas, Komi, Karachay-Balkar, Kumyk, Lezgi, Russian, Yakut, Tuvan, Udmurt, Kalmykabq / alt / ava / bul / kjh / kom / krc / kum / lez / rus / sah / tyv / udm / xalЗамбияZambija
Chuvash, Mongolian, Ossetianchv / mon / ossЗамбиZambi
Rusyn, Ukrainianrue / ukrЗамбіяZambija
AbkhazabkЗамбиаZambia
BashkirbakЗамбия / ZambiyaZambiya
BelarusianbelЗамбія / ZambijaZambija
ChechencheЗамби / ZambiZambi
KazakhkazЗамбия / زامبيا / ZambïyaZambïya
KabardiankbdЗамбиэZambiă
KyrgyzkirЗамбия / زامبىيا / ZambiyaZambiya
Kurdish (Caucasus)kmrЗамби / ZambîZambî
Meadow MarimhrЗамбийZambij
MacedonianmkdЗамбијаZambija
SerbiansrpЗамбија / ZambijaZambija
TatartatЗамбия / Zambiä / زامبىيەZambiä
TajiktgkЗамбия / زمبیه / ZambijaZambija
Arabicaraزامبيا, زمبياZāmbiyā, Zambiyā
South Azerbaijaniazbزامبییا / ZambiyaZambiya
Sorani Kurdishckbزامبیا / ZambiyaZambiya
Persianfasزامبیا / Zâmbiyâ, زامبی / ZâmbiZâmbiyâ, Zâmbi
Western PunjabipnbزیمبیاZæmbiyā
DariprsزامبیاZāmbiyā
PashtopusزامبياZāmbiyā
Uyghuruigزامبىيە / Zambiye / ЗамбияZambiye
Urduurdزیمبیا, زامبیاZæmbiyā, Zāmbiyā
DhivehidivޒެންބިއާŻenbiā
Hebrewhebזמביה, זאמביהZambyah, Zāmbyah
Ladinoladזאמביה / ZambiaZambia
YiddishyidזאַמביעZambye
AmharicamhዛምቢያZambiya
GreekellΖάμπιαZámpia
ArmenianhyeԶամբիաZambia
Georgian, Mingreliankat / xmfზამბიაZambia
Lazlzzზამბია / ZambiaZambia
Hindihinज़ांबियाZāṃbiyā
Bengalibenজাম্বিয়াJāmbiyā
Gujaratigujઝામ્બિયાJʰāmbiyā
Odiaoriଜାମ୍ବିଆJāmbiā
Punjabipanਜ਼ੈਂਬੀਆZæṃbīā
Sinhalasinසැම්‍බියාවSæmbiyāva
KannadakanಜಾಂಬಿಯJāṃbiya
MalayalammalസാംബിയSāṃbiya
Tamiltamஸம்பியாSampiyā
TelugutelజాంబియాJāṃbiyā
Chinesezho贊比亞/赞比亚Zànbǐyà
JapanesejpnザンビアZanbia
Koreankor잠비아Jambia
Tibetan, Dzongkhabod / dzoཛམ་བི་ཡ།Dzam.bi.ya
Burmesemyaဇမ်ဘီယာZãbʰiya
ThaithaแซมเบียSǣmbiya
Khmerkhmហ្សាំប៊ី, ហ្សំប៊ីHsāṃbī, Hsaṃbī

German, Finnish, Estonian and Welsh begin the name with S: Sambia. Irish adds the article, An tSaimbia, and Manx writes Yn Tambia; Vietnamese spells it out syllable by syllable, Dăm-bi-a.

02 · NamesU+005A LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Z

From Northern Rhodesia to Zambia, Sambia and Zambija

Zambia takes its name from the Zambezi, the river that forms its southern border. Until independence on 24 October 1964 the territory was Northern Rhodesia, a name it had carried since 1911 (Wikipedia, Zambia). The new name needed little adaptation: most languages in the list write Zambia unchanged, from Albanian to Swahili.

Where it does change, the spelling habits of each language show. Croatian, Latvian and Slovenian add a j, Zambija; Czech and French drop the final a, Zambie; Turkish and Kinyarwanda write Zambiya. Maltese marks the z with a dot, Żambja, and Afrikaans ends in Zambië. Cyrillic languages mostly write Замбия, while Chuvash, Mongolian and Ossetian shorten it to Замби.

Inside the country, English is the official language, and seven regional languages are used beside it in early primary schooling (Wikipedia, Languages of Zambia). Five of them name the republic here: Ichalo ca Zambia in Bemba, Dziko la Zambia in Nyanja, Cisi za Zambia in Tonga, Naha Zambia ye Ipusa in Lozi and Kyalo kya Zambia in Kaonde. The anthem is Stand and Sing of Zambia, Proud and Free, in Bemba Lumbanyeni Zambia.

03 · Lusaka

Lusaka in other languages

Lusaka in 61 languages and variants, grouped where the spelling is shared, with ISO 639-3 codes and romanisation
LanguagesISO 639-3NameRomanised
English, French, Latvian, Lithuanian, Samogitian, German, Luxembourgish, Low German, Irisheng / fra / lav / lit / smg / deu / ltz / nds / gleLusakasame as written
Azerbaijani, Moldovan, Turkmenaze / mol / tukLusaka / ЛусакаLusaka
Latin, Portugueselat / porLusacasame as written
BosnianbosLusaka / Лусака / لۆساقاLusaka
EsperantoepoLusakosame as written
IcelandicislLúsakasame as written
Kurmanji KurdishkurLûsakasame as written
MalaymsaLusaka / لوساكاLusaka
TetumtetLuzakasame as written
UzbekuzbLusaka / Лусака / لۇسەكەLusaka
Bulgarian, Mongolian, Russian, Ukrainianbul / mon / rus / ukrЛусакаLusaka
Bashkir, Serbianbak / srpЛусака / LusakaLusaka
BelarusianbelЛусака / ŁusakaŁusaka
ChuvashchvЛусакӑLusakă
KazakhkazЛусака / لۋساكا / LwsakaLwsaka
KabardiankbdЛусакэLusakă
KyrgyzkirЛусака / لۇساكا / LusakaLusaka
OssetianossЛусакӕLusakä
TatartatЛусака / Lusaka / لۇساكاLusaka
TajiktgkЛусака / لوسکه / LusakaLusaka
Arabicaraلوساكا, لساكاLūsākā, Lusākā
South Azerbaijaniazbلوساکا / LusakaLusaka
Persianfasلوساکا / Lusâkâ, لوزاکا / LuzâkâLusâkâ, Luzâkâ
Western Punjabi, Pashto, Urdupnb / pus / urdلوساکاLūsākā
Uyghuruigلۇساكا / Lusaka / ЛусакаLusaka
Hebrewhebלוסקה, לוסאקהLūsaqah, Lūsāqah
YiddishyidלוסאַקאַLusaka
AmharicamhሉሳካLusaka
GreekellΛουσάκαLoysáka
ArmenianhyeԼուսակաLousaka
GeorgiankatლუსაკაLusaka
Hindi, Nepalihin / nepलुसाकाLusākā
BengalibenলুসাকাLusākā
PunjabipanਲੂਸਾਕਾLūsākā
KannadakanಲುಸಾಕLusāka
Malayalammalലുസാക്കLusākka
Tamiltamலுசாக்காLucākkā
TelugutelలుసాకాLusākā
Chinesezho盧薩卡/卢萨卡Lúsàkǎ
JapanesejpnルサカRusaka
Koreankor루사카Lusaka
ThaithaลูซากาLūsākā
Khmerkhmឡូសាកា, លូសាកាḶūsākā, Lūsākā

Latin and Portuguese write Lusaca, Esperanto Lusako and Icelandic Lúsaka. Japanese ルサカ (Rusaka) has an r, as Japanese has no separate l.

04 · Provinces

The 10 provinces of Zambia with ISO 3166-2 codes

Zambia is divided into ten provinces, each with a provincial capital. ISO 3166-2:ZM numbers them from ZM-01 Western to ZM-10 Muchinga; the order follows no alphabet, so Copperbelt is ZM-08 and Lusaka ZM-09.

Zambia, ISO 3166-2:ZM: 10 provinces
ISO 3166-2EnglishEnglishAdministrative centreChange
Provinces10
ZM-01 Western Province Western MonguMongu
ZM-02 Central Province Central KabweKabwe
ZM-03 Eastern Province Eastern ChipataChipata
ZM-04 Luapula Province Luapula MansaMansa
ZM-05 Northern Province Northern KasamaKasama
ZM-06 North-Western Province North-Western SolweziSolwezi
ZM-07 Southern Province Southern ChomaChoma 2011 Provincial capital moved from Livingstone to Choma
ZM-08 Copperbelt Province Copperbelt NdolaNdola
ZM-09 Lusaka Province Lusaka LusakaLusaka
ZM-10 Muchinga Province Muchinga ChinsaliChinsali 2014 Province created in 2011; code added by ISO on 3 November 2014

Codes and names: ISO 3166-2:ZM on the ISO Online Browsing Platform, change of 3 November 2014 (ZM-10 added), as tabulated in Wikipedia's ISO 3166-2:ZM, checked 28 October 2026. Capitals: Wikipedia's Provinces of Zambia, which gives Choma for Southern Province, checked 28 October 2026.

05 · Provinces

Muchinga, Choma and the new districts

Muchinga is the youngest province. Its creation was announced in October 2011 and it was formed from four districts of Northern Province and Chama of Eastern Province, with its capital at Chinsali; the same announcement made Choma the capital of Southern Province in place of Livingstone (Wikipedia, Muchinga Province). ISO added the code ZM-10 on 3 November 2014.

Below the provinces, the number of districts has grown from 72 before the 2011 election to 116 since April 2018 (Wikipedia, Districts of Zambia). The districts are listed by province on the subdivisions page.

06 · Towns

The ten largest towns

  • Lusaka
  • Kitwe
  • Ndola
  • Kabwe
  • Chingola
  • Mufulira
  • Luanshya
  • Livingstone
  • Kasama
  • Chipata
07 · Questions

Questions about the names and provinces of Zambia

What was Zambia called before independence?

Northern Rhodesia, from 1911 until 24 October 1964. The new name comes from the Zambezi river.

How many provinces does Zambia have?

Ten. Muchinga, the tenth, was created in 2011 and coded ZM-10 by ISO in 2014.

What are the ISO codes of Zambia?

ZM (alpha-2), ZMB (alpha-3) and 894 (numeric) in ISO 3166-1.