Ndola is the third largest city in Zambia in terms of size and population, with a population of 627,503 (2022 census), after the capital, Lusaka, and Kitwe, and the second largest in terms of infrastructure development after Lusaka. It is the industrial and commercial center of the Copperbelt, Zambia's copper-mining region, and capital of Copperbelt Province. It lies just 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from the border with DR Congo. It is also home to Zambia's first modern stadium, the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium.
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👉 Ndola in the context of Copperbelt
The Copperbelt (French: ceinture du cuivre) is a natural region in Central Africa which sits on the border region between northern Zambia and the south eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. It is known for copper mining and is the second largest global reserve of copper, about 1⁄3 the size of the Chilean reserve.
Traditionally, the term Copperbelt includes the mining regions of Zambia's Copperbelt Province (notably the towns of Ndola, Kitwe, Chingola, Luanshya, and Mufulira in particular) and the Congo's Haut-Katanga and Lualaba provinces (notably Lubumbashi, Kolwezi, and Likasi). It arises because of the Katanga Supergroup, a Neoproterozoic sequence of geological formations.
In this Dossier
Ndola in the context of 1961 Ndola Transair Sweden DC-6 crash
On 18 September 1961, a DC-6 passenger aircraft of Transair Sweden operating for the United Nations (UN) crashed near Ndola, Northern Rhodesia (present-day Zambia). The crash resulted in the deaths of all people on board, including Dag Hammarskjöld, the second secretary-general of the United Nations, and 15 others. Hammarskjöld had been en route to ceasefire negotiations with Moïse Tshombe during the Congo Crisis. Three official inquiries failed to conclusively determine the cause. Some historians and military experts like Susan Williams have criticized the official inquiries, pointing to evidence of foul play that had been omitted from the inquiries.
Hammarskjöld's death caused a succession crisis at the UN when the Security Council was tasked with selecting his successor.
Ndola in the context of Copperbelt Province
Copperbelt Province is a province in Zambia which covers the mineral-rich Copperbelt, and farming and bush areas to the south. It was the backbone of the Northern Rhodesian economy during British colonial rule and fuelled the hopes of the immediate post-independence period, but its economic importance was severely damaged by a crash in global copper prices in 1973. The province adjoins the Haut-Katanga province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is similarly mineral-rich.
The main cities and towns of the Copperbelt are Kitwe, Ndola, Mufulira, Luanshya, Chingola, Kalulushi and Chililabombwe. Roads and rail links extend north into the Congo to Lubumbashi, but the Second Congo War brought economic contact between the two countries to a standstill, now recovering.