Choma is a town that serves as the capital of the Southern Province of

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

. It is also the capital of Choma District, one of the 15 administrative districts in the province.

Location

Choma lies on the

Lusaka–Livingstone Road The T1 or Lusaka–Livingstone Road is the main highway of the Southern Province of Zambia. It begins 55 kilometres south of the city of Lusaka (10 kilometres south of Kafue) and heads south-west to the principal tourist destination, Victoria ...

, approximately south-west of

Lusaka Lusaka (; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was ab ...

, the national capital and largest city in Zambia. This is approximately , by road, northeast of Livingstone, the largest city in Zambia's Southern Province. The geographical coordinates of Choma are:16°46'16.0"S, 26°59'32.0"E (Latitude:-16.771111; Longitude:26.992222). Choma sits at an average elevation of above

mean sea level There are several kinds of mean in mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. ...

Population

In 1990, the population of Choma was 30,143. In 2000, there were 40,405 people. The 2010 population census and household survey enumerated the population of the town at 51,842 inhabitants. The table below illustrates the same data.

Overview

Choma Town is home to a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

dedicated to the

cultural heritage Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by soci ...

of the Tonga people of southern Zambia. The ''Nkanga River Conservation Area'' lies approximately from Choma town.

Education

Choma has a range of both state-funded and

private schools An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...

. Some of the state funded schools include: 1. Choma Day Secondary School, a mission school 2. Choma Secondary School, another mission school 3. Chuundu Day Secondary School 4. Batoka Secondary School 5. Masuku Secondary School, a mission school 6. Macha Girls' Secondary School, another mission school 7. Njase Girls' Secondary School, a mission school 8. St. Mark's Boys' Secondary School, a mission school 9. Swan Comprehensive School 10. St. Frances Davidson Day Secondary School, a mission school and 11.St Mulumba's Special School, named after the

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

n Saint

Matiya Mulumba Matiya Mulumba, also known as Matthias Murumba Kalemba (1836 - May 30, 1886), was a Ugandan Roman Catholic, one of the Martyrs of Uganda The Uganda Martyrs are a group of 22 Catholic and 23 Anglican converts to Christianity in the historical ...

. In 2016, the

Government of Zambia The politics of Zambia takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the president of Zambia is head of state, head of government and leader of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by th ...

indicated intentions to construct a public university in Choma, once suitable land is located.

Other considerations

Nightlife

Choma is home to a number of bars and

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

s including ''Club Leelove''; ''DC Nitght Club'' and ''Choma Hotel & Bar'' These establishments have hosted notable Zambian artists including Macky 2,

Petersen Zagaze Mukubesa Mundia (born September 28, 1982), better known by his stage name Petersen Zagaze is a Zambian Reggae and Afro Dancehall recording artist and record producer from Lusaka, Zambia. He initially gained major recognition after his third sing ...

and

Mampi Mirriam Mukape (born August 4, 1986), popularly known as Mampi, is a Zambian singer, actress and songwriter. Her music is kwaito and reggae inspired. She is one of the most viewed Zambian female artists on YouTube. Early life Mampi was born in ...

Food

Choma has a variety of restaurants, cafes and street food stalls in Choma, including ''Wonderbake'', ''Debonair's Pizza'', ''Rachael's Lodge'', and ''PMB Snacklite'', within the gardens of Choma Museum. The main market, ''Makalanguzu'', also sells ingredients and traditional street food, including fish, grains, tobacco leaves and roasted corn.

International presence

From 2012 to 2017, Choma hosted successive teams of

Voluntary Service Overseas Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) is a not-for-profit international development organization charity with a vision for "a fair world for everyone" and a mission to "create lasting change through volunteering". VSO delivers development impact throug ...

(VSO) youth volunteers working in the areas of health, education and environment.

Notable residents

Some of the notable residents include the following: 1.

Gilbert Choombe Gilbert Choombe (born 7 March 1992 in Choma, Zambia) is a Zambian amateur boxer. He competed in the Men's light welterweight event at the 2012 Summer Olympics but lost to Jeff Horn Jeffrey Christopher Horn Jr. (born 4 February 1988) is an Au ...

, an Olympic boxer 2.

Emmanuel Zulu Emmanuel Zulu (born 3 January 1981) is a Zambian footballer. International competition Zulu represented Zambia at the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship as well as in 2002 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers against Togo and Botswana. Professional compe ...

, and 3.

Spencer Sautu Spencer Sautu (born 5 October 1994) is a Zambian professional footballer who currently plays as a midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up ...

, a

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who plays for the Choma-based

Green Eagles F.C. Green Eagles Football Club is a Zambian football club based in Choma, Zambia that plays in the MTN/FAZ Super Division. The club finished the 2016 season in 11th place. There has been notable resurgence by the club, which has shifted the power b ...

References

External links

Orphanage Children's Nest in Choma
{{Authority control Choma District Populated places in Southern Province, Zambia