Country Profile: Zambia

Country Resources

Topographic
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
Malawi 1:250,000 Scale Topographic Maps (Metric)Department of Surveys1:250,0001994 – 199610
Malawi 1:250,000 Scale Topographic Maps (SD)Department of Surveys1:250,0001976 – 197610
Malawi 1:50,000 Scale Topographic Maps (Z742 / DOS 425)Directorate of Overseas Surveys1:50,0001964 – 197112
Democratic Republic of the Congo 1:200,000 Scale Topographic Maps (IGM)Institut Geographique Militaire / Militair Geographisch Instituut (Belgium)1:200,0001926 – 196035
Zambia 1:50,000 Scale Topographic MapsSurvey Department (Zambia)1:50,0001960 – 1997803
Zambia 1:100,000 Scale Topographic MapsSurvey Department (Zambia)1:100,0001980 – 199064
Zambia 1:250,000 Scale Topographic MapsSurvey Department (Zambia)1:250,0001960 – 199752

Nautical
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
Bathymetric Charts of ZambiaSurvey Department (Zambia)Varies1974 – 19743

Geoscientific
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
Tanzania 1:2,000,000 Scale Geological MapBureau de Recherches Geologiques et Minieres1:2,000,0002004 – 20041
Zambia 1:250,000 Scale Geological MapsDirectorate of Overseas Surveys1:250,0001984 – 19855
Botswana 1:1,000,000 Scale Geological MapsGeological Survey (and Mines) Department1:1,000,0001984 – 19904
Botswana 1:2,000,000 Scale Geological MapsGeological Survey (and Mines) Department1:2,000,0001963 – 19631
Zambia 1:100,000 Scale Geological Explanatory NotesGeological Survey Department1:100,0001961 – 201698
Zambia 1:100,000 Scale Geological MapsGeological Survey Department1:100,0001960 – 2015156
Zambia 1:1,000,000 Scale Geological MapGeological Survey Department1:1,000,0001981 – 19814
Malawi 1:250,000 Scale Geological MapsGeological Survey Department (Malawi)1:250,0001972 – 199210
Malawi 1:1,000,000 Scale Geological MapGeological Survey Department (Malawi)1:1,000,0001966 – 19661
Malawi 1:1,000,000 Scale Mineral Resources MapGeological Survey Department (Malawi)1:1,000,0001990 – 19901
Malawi 1:1,000,000 Scale Aeromagnetic MapHunting Geology and Geophysics LTD.1:1,000,0001986 – 19861
Angola 1:1,000,000 Scale Geological Map (6 Sheets)Instituto Nacional de Geologia de Angola1:1,000,0001988 – 19881
Angola 1:1,000,000 Scale Mineral Resources Maps (4 sheets)Instituto Nacional de Geologia de Angola1:1,000,0001998 – 19981

Thematic
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
The World 1:30,000,000 Scale Topographic Map Series 1145 (NGA)DMA1:30,000,0002
Zambia Political Administration MapsSD1:750,0001990 – 19914

Global Census Archive: GIS Census Data

East View Geospatial has an ongoing effort to add GIS census data to our Global Census Archive program. Please contact us for the status and availability of Zambia census resources.


Global Resources

Topographic
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
Soviet Military City PlansVoenno-topograficheskoe upravlenie General’nogo shtaba (Soviet Union)Varies1944 – 20033017
Soviet Military 1:100,000 Scale Topographic MapsVoenno-topograficheskoe upravlenie General’nogo shtaba (Soviet Union)1:100,0001947 – 199924897
Soviet Military 1:200,000 Scale Topographic MapsVoenno-topograficheskoe upravlenie General’nogo shtaba (Soviet Union)1:200,0001949 – 200917799
Soviet Military 1:500,000 Scale Topographic MapsVoenno-topograficheskoe upravlenie General’nogo shtaba (Soviet Union)1:500,0001953 – 19983093

Nautical
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
NGA Nautical Charts POD Certified (All Scales)National Geospatial-Intelligence AgencyVaries1943 – 20134517

Aeronautical
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
Joint Operations Graphic (JOG) 1:250,000 – AeronauticalDefence Mapping Agency1:250,0001958 – 20074204
Tactical Pilotage Chart (TPC) 1:500,000 Scale – AeronauticalDefence Mapping Agency1:500,0001967 – 2006598
Operational Navigation Chart (ONC) 1:1,000,000 Scale – AeronauticalDefence Mapping Agency1:1,000,0001969 – 2001243
Jet Navigation Chart (JNC) 1:2,000,000 Scale – AeronauticalDefence Mapping Agency1:2,000,0001971 – 1999117
Global Navigation and Planning Chart (GNC) 1:5,000,000 Scale – AeronauticalDefence Mapping Agency1:5,000,0001981 – 199927

Geoscientific
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
Soviet Military 1:1,000,000 Scale Topographic MapsVoenno-topograficheskoe upravlenie General’nogo shtaba (Soviet Union)1:1,000,0001948 – 19941089

Note: East View Geospatial is continuously sourcing new resources that may not yet be listed in Global Explorer. Please contact us if you have geodata needs beyond what is listed above and we will be happy to discuss available off-the-shelf and custom solutions.


Historical Country Mapping Information

Jump to: Topographic | Geological/Scientific | Soil | Cadaster | Tourist/Reference | Census/Demography/Statistics

Topographic

The Zambian national mapping agency the Survey Department (ZS) is responsible for national topographic mapping and for cadastral survey. It also publishes small scale thematic coverage of the country and compiles large scale township maps and street plans. All maps are on a Transverse Mercator projection, Clarke 1880 ellipsoid.

The basic scale map for the country is the 1:50,000 scale ZS 51 series. This map was started after World War II by the British Directorate of Colonial Surveys (later Directorate of Overseas Survey (DOS) and now Ordnance Survey International (OSI)). Early sheets had 25 ft or 50 ft contour intervals or in some areas were issued as preliminary plots with no relief data. DOS continued to provide aid for the production of new maps in this series throughout the 1970s and some current sheets still carry the series designation DOS 424 (Z741). Since 1970 five-color metric editions have been published by ZS with 20 m contours and the UTM grid. Details are revised from the latest available aerial photography, which has often been provided in overseas aid projects, for example delivered through the Japanese agency JICA, or the Swedish Swedesurvey. Specification changes include a move to process colors in the early 1980s. This series covers most of the country, with the exception of sparsely populated areas of South Western province. A 1:100,000 scale program designated ZS 41 is in progress, initiated in 1980 and nearing completion. A 1:250,000 scale map ZS 31 covers the country in 53 sheets. The current specification is for 50 m contours and a UTM grid, and most sheets cover one and a half degrees longitude by one degree latitude.

Other smaller scale national mapping includes 1:750,000 scale relief or land use coverage in four sheets, as well as sheets conforming to ICAO specifications in a 1:1,000,000 scale aeronautical series, which is also available in a topographic edition without the aeronautical overprint. At 1:1,500,000 scale ZS publishes a single sheet map, which is used as a base for 10 different thematic maps. Most date from the 1980s; the double-sided tourist map was issued in a new edition in 1994.

Soviet military topographic mapping of Zambia is available at the following scales: 1:1,000,000 (8 sheets, complete coverage, published 1977-1985); 1:500,000 (22 sheets, complete coverage, published 1978-1985); 1:200,000 (134 sheets, complete coverage, published 1979-1984) and city (1:10,000 to 1:25,000) topographic maps of Lusaka and Ndola published in 1979. These products are available in print, digital raster and digital vector from East View Geospatial.

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Geological/Scientific

Geological mapping of Zambia is the responsibility of the Geological Survey Department (ZGS). 1:100 000 scale quarter-degree mapping was initiated in 1960, each sheet covers the area of four 1:50 000 scale topographic maps, and over 30 sheets were published by the mid-1970s. These are still available as separate sheets or with accompanying reports, but almost no new mapping has been carried out. Coverage is best around the Copperbelt and Lusaka. A projected national full-colour 1:250 000 scale geological map was started with British aid and issued for five quadrangles in 1986. No further progress has been made in this map. Smaller scale earth science mapping from ZGS includes 1:500 000 scale coverage of mining licence areas and 1:1 000 000 scale full-colour geological mapping of the country.

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Soil

Soils mapping of Zambia started with the establishment of the Soil Survey Unit of the Department of Agriculture in 1969. Its output includes local mapping published with accompanying Soil Survey reports, but has also included explanatory mapping at a district level. Regional coverage includes 1:500,000 scale mapping of the northwest region, derived from LANDSAT imagery and compiled in 1984 with aid from the Regional Centre for Remote Sensing in Nairobi. A program of quarter-degree 1:100,000 scale mapping was also started and a full-color national 1:3,000,000 scale soil map was prepared for the national atlas. Other thematic mapping from ZS includes a 1:500,000 scale vegetation map compiled with German support to give nine-sheet coverage of the country in conjunction with the Zambian Forest Department. Seventeen different vegetation types are described. The national atlas is also produced by ZS, and originally consisted of 1:2,500,000 scale thematic coverage. Since the mid-1980s new mapping is being released at 1:3,000,000 scale and is gradually replacing older editions.

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Cadaster

Larger scale programs cover townships and other areas of the country. A national urban program at 1:5,000 scale provides contoured coverage and maps are also published at 1:1,000; 1:2,500 or 1:6,000 scales. All of the major settled areas are covered. In addition an indexed series of four-color town maps at scales between 1:10,000 and 1:20,000 is available for the main cities. Tourist mapping includes coverage of six national parks, the scales varying according to the size of the park, published in association with the Zambia National Tourist Board.

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Tourist/Reference

General small scale maps of Zambia were recently published by Macmillan and by International Travel Maps (ITM), Vancouver, whilst Directory Publishers of Zambia recently issued a street map of Lusaka.

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Census/Demography/Statistics

The Locational and Spatial Research Program in the National Council for Scientific Research (NCSR) collaborates with ZS in the production of demographic, social and economic mapping conforming with the style of the national atlas. NCSR has been involved in mapping projects associated with disease distribution, and urban land use in Lusaka. 1:20,000 scale land use mapping has been compiled for major cities and derived from orthophoto coverage. Demographic mapping has also been carried out to map the results of population censuses. The Atlas of the population of Zambia has been updated using data from the 1980 census, but only a limited update of the earlier atlas has so far been published. The Central Statistical Office maintains demographic data and carries out pre-census mapping of Zambia at enumeration district level.

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Content copyright © 2014 De Gruyter for e-version of World Mapping Today, 2nd Edition