This weekend I was browsing through the CIA World Factbook (as I do every weekend?) and I started comparing Zambia to the United States. We have some statistics about the struggles of Zambia strewn throughout the website, but we don’t have anything that compares those numbers to the US. Here are a couple of the sobering facts that really put into perspective how difficult life is for Zambians.
There is a large population difference with Zambia at just under 12 million people and the US with over 300 million so I focused more on percentages than actual numbers. In the US the median age is 36.7 years old. In Zambia it is 16.9 which means that 50% of the population is less than 16.9 years old.
The infant mortality rate measures the number of children who die under the age of one. In the US the infant mortality rate is 6.3 children for every 1000 births. In Zambia, 100.96 children die for every 1000 births.
We have an estimated 950,000 people in the US living with AIDS which makes up about 0.6% of the population. Zambia has an astonishing 920,000 people living with AIDS or 16.5% of their population. AIDS is even more lethal in Zambia because of the lack of basic medical care. The death rate of those with AIDS is more than 4 times higher than that of the US.
| Statistic | United States | Zambia |
|---|---|---|
| Life Expectancy | 78.14 | 38.59 |
| % of Population under 14 | 20.1% | 45.4% |
| Average School Years | 16 years | 7 years |
| Per Capita GDP | $45,800 | $1,400 |
| Unemployment Rate | 4.6% | 50% |
What can you do about this problem that seems too big to fathom? I would start with prayer…and then either sign up for Camp LIFE 2009 or sponsor one of our Zambian children.
These statistics are staggering indeed. I will continue to keep this country and its children especially, in my prayers.