Zambia has moved from being a major copper producer and potentially one of the continent's richest countries at independence in 1964 to one of the world's poorest.
A colonial legacy, mismanagement, debt and disease are said to have contributed to the country's tribulations.
Politically, it switched from colonial government into an era of one-party rule lasting 27 years. A multi-party system emerged in the early 1990s.
Zambia is landlocked and sparsely populated by more than 70 ethnic groups, many of them Bantu-speaking. It has some spectacular scenery, including the Victoria Falls along the Zambezi river, the Bangweulu Swamps and the Luangwa river valley.
AT-A-GLANCE
In the late 1960s it was the third largest copper miner, after the US and the Soviet Union. World copper prices collapsed in 1975 with devastating effects on the economy.
The World Bank has urged Zambia to develop other sources of revenue - including tourism and agriculture. Even so, copper accounts for most of Zambia's foreign earnings and there is optimism about the future of the industry, which was privatised in the 1990s. Electronics manufacturers have fuelled demand and investment in mines has grown.
Aids is blamed for decimating the cream of Zambian professionals - including engineers and politicians - and malaria is a major problem. Millions of Zambians live below the World Bank poverty threshold of $1 a day.
Zambia hosts tens of thousands of refugees who have fled fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
President: Levy Mwanawasa
President Levy Mwanawasa won a second term in September 2006, having campaigned on his economic record.
Mr Mwanawasa took 43% of the vote compared with the 29% of his main rival, Michael Sata, who alleged that he had been cheated of victory. Some unrest followed the vote.
Mr Mwanawasa began his first term after a narrow election win in 2001. Though initially seen by some as a handpicked puppet of his predecessor Frederick Chiluba, he was quick to remove Mr Chiluba's aides from the government.
He has made the fight against corruption a centrepiece of his presidency, giving the green light to investigations into alleged graft during the Chiluba era. He pressed for the former president's immunity from prosecution to be lifted.
Western donors have praised him for boosting economic growth to above 5% and attracting foreign investments, helped by his anti-graft campaign.
The International Monetary Fund, World Bank and Western donors have rewarded Mr Mwanawasa by cutting Zambia's foreign debt to $502 million from an estimated $7.2 billion in June 2005.
His success followed some years in the political wilderness. He resigned from the government in 1994, citing corruption as the reason. Supporters and detractors alike agree that he displays a high level of integrity in his public life.
Mr Mwanawasa was born in 1948, and is married with six children. He has been a practising lawyer since 1973. In his most famous case, he defended former vice president Lt-Gen Christon Tembo and others, who were charged in 1989 with plotting to overthrow Kenneth Kaunda.
The president's health is an issue, especially for his opponents. He was involved in a near-fatal road accident in 1992 which left him with slurred speech. In April 2006 he suffered a minor stroke.
State-run radio and television services dominate Zambia's broadcasting scene. Private radio stations offer little political reporting.
The authorities make use of several laws, including libel and security laws, to intimidate journalists, especially those who have reported on corruption. Defaming the president is a criminal offence.
FM relays of BBC World Service and Radio France Internationale are on the air in Lusaka and Kitwe. Multichannel pay-TV services are available.
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