Western province

Province in Zambia in the upper Zambezi; area 126,386 sq km/48,800 sq mi; population (1990) 607,500. The area is fertile, and supports a large population, consisting of members of many different ethnic groups, of which the main one is the Lozi. Mongu is the capital, and residence of the paramount chief (Litunga) of the Lozi.

The province was formerly Barotseland. After Zambian independence in 1964, Barotseland harboured an active movement to break away and establish an independent kingdom, forcing the Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda to make efforts to preserve national unity. The region's main agricultural products are cattle in areas away from the Zambezi floodplain and subsistence farming close to the river.