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Early deaths hit Zambian adults

Posted on: Thursday, 20 November 2003, 06:00 CST

Early deaths hit Zambian adults

LUSAKA, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- Many Zambians today are dying at their productive age, with women succumbing more to social and economic pressures than men, local newspaper Times of Zambia reported Wednesday.

The final results of the 2000 Census of Population and Housing indicated that adult survivorship levels have deteriorated between 1990 and 2000, with more people dying at the age of 15 years and over.

Officiating at the dissemination meeting which coincided with the African Statistics Day celebrations here Tuesday, Vice President Nevers Mumba bemoaned the early deaths.

"Apart from the significant loss of the economically active population that is vital for economic development, the loss of our adult population has implications on the orphanhood and widowhood situation in the country," he said.

Mumba said there was need for an integrated approach to improve maternal and child health so that the health reforms translated into improved health.

United Nations Population Fund Country Representative Margaret O'Callaghan said the 2000 census had presented a challenge to the Zambian government and all its partners.

Meanwhile, the 2000 census report indicated that Zambia's current population has been estimated at 10.7 million people.

Director of Census and Statistics Buleti Nsemukila, who released the results, said there were more women than men, projected 5,373,153 females and 5371,229 males by 2003 mid-year.

Nsemukila said the results indicate that 50 percent of Zambia's population was aged about 17 years. Life expectancy had increased from 47 percent to 50 percent.

The country's population density was about 13 persons per square km, and 65 percent of Zambians lived in rural areas.

"There has been more of the urban-to-urban migration than rural- to-rural migration," he said.

He said that about 55 percent of the population were literate. 46 percent of the rural population and 74 percent of urban were literate.

The Central Statistical Office has for the first time been able to release a census report within three years. It has always taken five years.

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