Lusaka - Post Report Question and Answers
Is it easy to make friends with locals here? Are there any prejudices or any ethnic groups who might feel uncomfortable here?
We've made a lot of friends outside the Embassy community, but they're all through the school and diplomatic community. In other words, they're all extremely privileged and wealthy compared to local Zambians. Our local Zambian friends tend to be white Zambians with ties to South Africa, just by virtue of who we meet through school and work. If they're non-White, they're from India, Kenya, China, Japan, the UK, Israel, or Germany, and they're here for business/work. There's absolutely a class divide with a long history of colonialism here, and it's something to be aware of. - Feb 2026
Friendly locals, tribal prejudice seem to be more of an issue than anything else. - Apr 2025
The Zambian people are very friendly. It's very complex, culturally. - Mar 2022
Zambians are kind and friendly but there is a significant socioeconomic and cultural divide between the average expat and the average Zambian, so it's important to be aware of that and to recognize what the true motive of your friendship might be. - Dec 2021
