Lusaka, city, south central Zambia, capital of the country and of Lusaka Province, situated at an altitude of about 1300 m (about 4265 ft) on a plateau. A sprawling, modern city, with a pleasant temperate climate, it is Zambia's chief administrative center and a major financial, transportation, and manufacturing hub. Diversified industries, some powered by the Kariba hydroelectric project on the Zambezi River, include food processing, motor-vehicle assembly, and the manufacture of clothing and electronic equipment. Railroads connect the city with Livingstone, to the south, and with Ndola and other centers of the copper-belt mining region, to the north. It also is served by an international airport. The University of Zambia (1965) is nearby, and the National Institute of Public Administration (1963) and Evelyn Hone College of Applied Arts and Commerce (1963) are here.
Lusaka was founded in 1905 by European settlers and was named for a local African leader. In 1935 it replaced Livingstone as the capital of the British dependency of Northern Rhodesia, and in 1964 it became the capital of independent Zambia. Population (1990) 982,362.
