Chinsali



Chinsali is a town in Zambia, which is both the district headquarters of Chinsali District and provincial headquarters of Muchinga Province.

Location
It lies just off the road between Mpika and Isoka (Tanzam Highway; Zambia's Great North Road), about 90 km southwest of Isoka. This is about 176 km north-north-east of Mpika.

Chinsali is located approximately 824 km, by road, north-east of the city of Lusaka, the capital and largest city in the country.

The geographical coordinates of Chinsali Town are 10°33'08.0"S, 32°04'09.0"E (Latitude:-10.552222; Longitude:32.069167). The town is nestled at an average elevation of 1383 m above mean sea level.

Population
The 1990 national population census enumerated 7,509 people in Chinsali. In 2000, the population census that year put the town's population at 11,507. In 2010, that year's population census gave the population total as 15,198. Central Statistical Office Zambia calculated that the population of Chinsali increased at an average rate of 2.82 percent annually, between 2000 and 2010.

Overview
Chinsali is home mainly to the Bemba people, and to their Senior Chief Nkula who is eligible to ascend to the throne of Paramount Chief of the Bemba People based in Mungwi District of Northern Province.

Chinsali's notable people
Notable people originating from Chinsali include:
 * Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe (1922 - 1980), politician, anti-colonialist, author and Zambia's second vice-president (1967 - 1970).
 * Kenneth Kaunda, Zambia's first president. Kaunda (1924 - 2021), born at Lubwa Mission, southwest of Chinsali.
 * Alice Lenshina (1920 – 1978), founder and leader the Lumpa Church, a controversial sect embracing a mixture of Christian and animist beliefs.