Mpika is a town in the Muchinga Province of Zambia, lying at the junction of the Great North Road to Kasama and Mbala and the Tanzam Highway to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. It also has a railway station on the TAZARA Railway about 5 km away. Mpika is situated between the Muchinga Escarpment to the east and vast Miombo plains to the west. The town has an estimated population of 40,000 inhabitants (2008), while the district population is estimated 150,000 inhabitants.