Zambia vs Zimbabwe

Why people mix them up

Both begin with "Z", both are landlocked, English-speaking countries in southern Africa, and they share a long border formed by the Zambezi River, with Victoria Falls right on the line between them. Until the 1960s they were even administered together as Northern and Southern Rhodesia, and Zambia's name comes from the same river that gives Zimbabwe its most famous landmark. With that much shared history and geography, the two names blur easily.

How to tell them apart

• Zambia is north of the Zambezi River; Zimbabwe is south of it.
• Zambia is nearly twice the size, about 752,000 km² against 391,000 km², and has eight neighbours; Zimbabwe has four.
• Zambia touches DR Congo, Tanzania, Angola and Malawi; Zimbabwe touches South Africa, which Zambia never does.
• Zambia's flag is mostly green with an orange eagle and three vertical stripes in the lower corner; Zimbabwe's has seven horizontal stripes and a white triangle with the Zimbabwe Bird and a red star.
• The capitals are Lusaka (Zambia) and Harare (Zimbabwe).
• Zambia's shape looks like a butterfly or a bow tie; Zimbabwe is a compact, roughly rounded block.

Memory hook

Zambia is on the Zambezi's north bank and comes first alphabetically, so it is "on top". Zimbabwe is below, next to South Africa.

On the map

For Zimbabwe, start from South Africa and tap the country directly north of it, across the Limpopo River, with Botswana to the west and Mozambique to the east. For Zambia, keep going north over the Zambezi: the butterfly-shaped country with DR Congo pressing into its top edge is Zambia. If the outline you are tapping touches Tanzania or Angola, it is Zambia; if it touches South Africa, it is Zimbabwe.