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. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

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

Geography

Location

Choma lies on the Lusaka–Livingstone Road, 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 abo ...

, 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 A mean is a quantity representing the "center" of a collection of numbers and is intermediate to the extreme values of the set of numbers. There are several kinds of means (or "measures of central tendency") in mathematics, especially in statist ...

. The ''Nkanga River Conservation Area'' lies approximately from Choma town.

Climate

Choma has the typical climate of southern Zambia with temperatures between 14 °C and 28 °C and sunshine ranging between 9 and 12 hours per day. The highest temperatures occur between the beginning of October and the end of December. Once the rains start, temperatures tend to fall, partly because of the rain and partly due to the often heavy cloud cover. The lowest temperatures are usually recorded in June and July. The rains generally start in the middle of October and continue through up to the beginning of April. Rainfall reaches its peak around January after which it diminishes slightly up to the beginning of April when usually it ceases entirely. Choma has an average rainfall of 800 mm of which 369 mm falls in January and February. There are variations in total rainfall and rainfall patterns from year to year and even in a particular season. These variations can have a major impact on crop yield. Humidity falls to about 33% until the onset of rains in October after which it skyrockets to about 77% in February. Humidity nosedives once the rains cease in April. The wind is predominantly from the east and south-west, and to a lesser degree from the north-east. The strength of the wind from these directions can be comparatively strong.

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.

Education

Choma has a range of both state-funded and

private schools A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their financial endowme ...

. 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 Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

n Saint Matiya Mulumba. 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.

Culture and lifestyle

Choma Town is home to a

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

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 socie ...

of the Tonga people of southern Zambia. Choma has a variety of restaurants, cafes and street food stalls 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. Choma is home to a number of bars and

nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...

s which have hosted notable Zambian artists including Macky 2, Petersen Zagaze and Mampi.

International presence

From 2012 to 2017, Choma hosted successive teams of

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 through a blended volunteer model c ...

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

Notable people

* Gilbert Choombe, Zambian Olympic boxer * Emmanuel Zulu, Zambian soccer player * Jonah Buyoya, Journalist * Ken Dumbo, Presenter, comedian * Spencer Sautu,

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who plays for the Choma-based Green Eagles F.C.

References

External links

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