Solwezi

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Zambian town

title: "Solwezi" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["solwezi-district", "provincial-capitals-in-zambia", "populated-places-in-north-western-province,-zambia"] description: "Zambian town" topic_path: "general/solwezi-district" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solwezi" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Zambian town ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

FieldValue
official_nameSolwezi
native_name
settlement_typeTown
image_sealSolwezi Coat of Arms.jpg
dot_x
pushpin_mapZambia
pushpin_label_positionbottom
pushpin_map_captionLocation in Zambia
subdivision_typeCountry
subdivision_name[[Image:Flag of Zambia.svg
subdivision_type1Province
subdivision_name1North-Western Province
subdivision_type2District
subdivision_name2Solwezi District
leader_title1
established_title
established_title2
established_title3
unit_prefmetric
area_total_km2
area_land_km2
population_as_of2010 Census
population_total90856
population_blank1_titleEthnicities
population_blank2_titleReligions
timezoneCAT
utc_offset+2
coordinates
elevation_footnotestags--
elevation_m1397
postal_code_type
blank_nameClimate
blank_infoCwb
::

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Solwezi is a town in Zambia. It is the provincial capital of the mineral-rich North-Western Province. Solwezi is also the administrative capital of Solwezi District, one of the eleven districts in the North-Western Province.

Geography

Location

Solwezi is located on the Chingola–Solwezi–Mwinilunga Road (T5 Road of Zambia), approximately 177 km north-west of Chingola and approximately 275 km south-east of Mwinilunga, in the extreme northwest of the country. The geographical coordinates of the city are:12°08'36.0"S, 26°23'09.0"E (Latitude:-12.143333; Longitude:26.385833). Solwezi sits at an average elevation of 1397 m above mean sea level.

Approximately 6 km south of the central business district, is the "Kifubwa Rock Stream Shelter", also Kifubwa Rock National Monument. It is located next to the Kifubwa River, with inscriptions dating from the Paleolithic period, carbon dated to about 6300 BC. The conservation area measures approximately 2590 km2 with the Kifubwa Stream Cave at its centre.

Climate

Solwezi features a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cwa) with distinct wet and dry seasons. October and November are the hottest months. Winters are milder, with July being the coolest month. The wet season, from November to March, experiences abundant rainfall. The dry season, from May to September, is marked by minimal precipitation.

| width = auto | collapsed = yes | metric first = yes | single line = yes | location = Solwezi (1991–2020) | Jan record high C = 39.2 | Feb record high C = 32.8 | Mar record high C = 32.7 | Apr record high C = 32.4 | May record high C = 32.1 | Jun record high C = 30.3 | Jul record high C = 33.1 | Aug record high C = 34.2 | Sep record high C = 38.2 | Oct record high C = 39.2 | Nov record high C = 35.1 | Dec record high C = 33.3 | year record high C = 34.4 | Jan high C = 27.3 | Feb high C = 27.4 | Mar high C = 27.8 | Apr high C = 27.6 | May high C = 27.2 | Jun high C = 25.9 | Jul high C = 25.7 | Aug high C = 28.5 | Sep high C = 31.3 | Oct high C = 31.9 | Nov high C = 28.9 | Dec high C = 27.2 | year high C = | Jan mean C = 22.1 | Feb mean C = 22.1 | Mar mean C = 22.1 | Apr mean C = 21.0 | May mean C = 18.7 | Jun mean C = 16.8 | Jul mean C = 16.6 | Aug mean C = 19.4 | Sep mean C = 22.4 | Oct mean C = 23.9 | Nov mean C = 22.8 | Dec mean C = 22.1 | year mean C = 20.8 | Jan low C = 16.9 | Feb low C = 16.8 | Mar low C = 16.4 | Apr low C = 14.3 | May low C = 10.1 | Jun low C = 7.6 | Jul low C = 7.4 | Aug low C = 10.3 | Sep low C = 13.4 | Oct low C = 15.8 | Nov low C = 16.7 | Dec low C = 16.9 | year low C = 13.6 | Jan record low C = 11.9 | Feb record low C = 10.4 | Mar record low C = 8.8 | Apr record low C = 6.9 | May record low C = 1.2 | Jun record low C = 1.9 | Jul record low C = 1.1 | Aug record low C = 2.1 | Sep record low C = 3.5 | Oct record low C = 9.0 | Nov record low C = 9.8 | Dec record low C = 11.9 | year record low C = 6.5 | precipitation colour = green | Jan precipitation mm = 273.5 | Feb precipitation mm = 228.3 | Mar precipitation mm = 210.8 | Apr precipitation mm = 48.9 | May precipitation mm = 2.6 | Jun precipitation mm = 0.3 | Jul precipitation mm = 0.0 | Aug precipitation mm = 0.6 | Sep precipitation mm = 2.7 | Oct precipitation mm = 33.7 | Nov precipitation mm = 160.2 | Dec precipitation mm = 279.9 | year precipitation mm = 1241.4 | source 1 = NOAA{{cite web |url = https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/2.2/data/0-data/Region-1-WMO-Normals-9120/Zambia/CSV/Solwezi_67551.csv |title = World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991-2020 — Solwezi |publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |access-date = January 24, 2024}}

Population

In 1990, the population of Solwezi was 23,435 people. In 2000, there were 38,121 people. The 2010 population census and household survey enumerated the population of the town at 90,856 inhabitants.

Economy

Solwezi is a mining town. As of 2015, the town was still developing, with infrastructure development running behind the swelling population. At that time, only the main street, Independence Road was named. Many of the other streets were un-named and unpaved. Copper is the main mineral extracted although cobalt, gold and uranium is also mined in the area.

The adjacent Kalumbila District hosts Lumwana Mine, located about 65 km west of Solwezi; and Kalumbila Mine, located about 140 km west of Solwezi, and run by Barrick Gold. Kalumbila is operated by First Quantum Minerals. The deposits at Lumwana were discovered in 1961, but no serious work was carried out there until Equinox Minerals Limited became involved in 1999. Uranium is also mined in Kalumbila District at the Lumwana mine. The main industry of Solwezi District is copper mining at Kansanshi Mine (located about 10 km north) run by First Quantum Minerals. Kansanshi Mine exploits copper-gold ore. The mining site has intermittently been running since the early 20th century for copper and gold.

Tribes

Kaonde is the largest tribe represented in Solwezi, in addition to large numbers of Lunda and Luvale speaking people. The Kaonde is a tribe that, like the Lunda people, are descendants of the Luba-Lunda Empire of Congo. They were among the first Zambians to do mining of copper in Zambia as suggested by archaeological evidence at the Kansanshi Mine in Solwezi that dates back to the Iron Age. The Kaonde tribe falls under one of the main tribes of Zambia, among the Lozi, the Bemba, the Ngoni, the Tonga and the Luvale. The Kaonde tribe has about 300,000 people in Zambia and about 30,000 people in Southern DRC.

Transportation

Solwezi is situated on the T5 Motorway, which connects the Copperbelt Province with Angola. Most people walk or drive around the town to get to and from different places. The Solwezi Airport is an airport near the T5 motorway.

References

References

  1. Hildah Lumba and Jowit Saluseki. (21 June 2015). "Solwezi: Mining Town On The Rise". [[Times of Zambia]].
  2. "Road Distance Between Chingola, Zambia And Solwezi, Zambia".
  3. "Road Distance Between Mwinilunga, Zambia And Solwezi, Zambia".
  4. "Location of Solwezi, Zambia".
  5. Flood Map. (26 May 2020). "Elevation of Solwezi, Zambia". Floodmap.net.
  6. Nkole Nkole. (30 September 2014). "Kifubwa Monument: Solwezi's Unique Treasure". [[Zambia Daily Mail]].
  7. (23 October 2023). "Table 1 Overview of the Köppen-Geiger climate classes including the defining criteria.". Nature: Scientific Data.
  8. Central Statistical Office Zambia and City Population. (14 July 2019). "Population of Zambian Cities and Urban Centres: Mwinilunga". Citypopulation.de.
  9. Mining for Zambia. (2016). "The Solwezi Effect". Miningforzambia.com.
  10. (2017). "The electricity crisis in Zambia: Blackouts and social stratification in new mining towns". Energy Research & Social Science.
  11. Skybray. (26 May 2020). "About Solwezi Airport". Skybray.aero.

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solwezi-districtprovincial-capitals-in-zambiapopulated-places-in-north-western-province,-zambia