Zambia commemorates 30th anniversary of declaration as Christian nation

LUSAKA, Zambia

Zambia on Wednesday marked 30 years since the country was declared a Christian nation.

The declaration was pronounced on Dec. 29, 1991 by the country's second President Frederick Chiluba.

"The United Party for National Development (UPND) government reaffirms Zambia as a Christian nation 30 years after the declaration," Deputy President Mutale Nalumango said in a statement preceding a celebratory service in the capital Lusaka.

The service was characterized by thanksgiving prayers for the peaceful election and leadership transition of August which saw Hakainde Hichilema, the leader of the then opposition UPND, defeat incumbent President Edgar Lungu of the Patriotic Front (PF).

Some of Lungu's party officials were present at the service, including Nalumango's predecessor Inonge Wina and Emmanuel Mwamba, the former ambassador to Ethiopia and permanent representative to the African Union.

The southern African nation also used the occasion to pray for its recovery from the ravaging effects of COVID-19, which has so far afflicted 243,638 people and claimed 3,726 lives.

The Zambia Statistics Agency estimates the population at over 18 million with 95.5% of the country Christian, of which 75.3% identify as Protestant and 20.2% as Roman Catholic.

Protestant groups with the largest numbers of adherents include the Anglican Church, Evangelical Christians, and Pentecostal groups.

The agency said that approximately 2.7% of the population is Muslim, with smaller numbers of Hindus, Baha’is, Buddhists, Jews, and Sikhs.