Sub-Saharan Africa · Lower-middle income
Zambia: key statistics
Zambia has 21.9m people (2025) and a GDP per person of $1,318. Below: 80 indicators with the latest year, world rank and change over ten years.
- Capital
- Lusaka
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Income group
- Lower-middle income
- Currency
- Zambian Kwacha ZMW
- Languages
- English
- ISO codes
- ZMZMB
- Land neighbours
- Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, Malawi, Namibia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe
Population21.9m2025 · rank 61 of 217GDP$28.9bn2025 · rank 117 of 211GDP per capita$1,3182025 · rank 188 of 211Life expectancy66.5 yrs2024 · rank 181 of 217Internet users17.1%2024 · rank 181 of 188Fertility4.042024 · rank 25 of 217CO₂ per person0.54 t2024 · rank 159 of 203Inflation13.9%2025 · rank 16 of 180
topic profiles
Zambia, topic by topic
Each profile brings together the indicators of one topic with world and regional rank, values since 2000, group averages and a comparison with neighbours.
Population
Zambia
GDP per capita
ZambiaSub-Saharan AfricaWorld
Life expectancy
ZambiaSub-Saharan AfricaWorld
Internet users
ZambiaSub-Saharan AfricaWorld
all indicators
Zambia by topic
World rank counts countries with a value in the recent window; regional rank is within Sub-Saharan Africa.
PopulationFull population profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 21.9m | 2025 | 61/217 | 19/48 | +34% | 8.2bn | |
| Population growth | 2.77% | 2025 | 19/217 | 11/48 | −0.3 pp | 0.91% | |
| Urban share | 45.9% | 2025 | 159/217 | 22/48 | +4.0 pp | 57.8% | |
| Fertility | 4.04 | 2024 | 25/217 | 23/48 | −17% | 2.19 | |
| Aged 65+ | 2.0% | 2025 | 215/217 | 48/48 | +0.3 pp | 10.4% | |
| Aged 0–14 | 41.0% | 2025 | 18/217 | 16/48 | −4.2 pp | 24.4% | |
| Density | 28.7 | 2024 | 175/216 | 37/48 | +34% | 62.1 | |
| Birth rate | 32.7 | 2024 | 19/217 | 17/48 | −14% | 16.3 | |
| Area | 752,612 km² | 2024 | 38/216 | 14/48 | ±0.0% | 140,539,257 km² |
EconomyFull economy profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | $28.9bn | 2025 | 117/211 | 16/46 | +36% | $118tn | |
| GDP per capita | $1,318 | 2025 | 188/211 | 25/46 | +1.7% | $14,406 | |
| GDP per capita, PPP | $4,379 | 2025 | 173/199 | 24/46 | +31% | $25,704 | |
| GNI per capita | $1,200 | 2025 | 180/201 | 27/46 | −22% | $14,244 | |
| GDP growth | 3.8% | 2025 | 86/210 | 29/46 | +0.8 pp | 2.9% | |
| GDP per capita growth | 0.9% | 2025 | 150/210 | 31/46 | +1.2 pp | 2.0% | |
| Agriculture share | 4.1% | 2025 | 113/198 | 41/45 | −0.9 pp | 4.0% | |
| Industry share | 35.3% | 2025 | 31/201 | 6/45 | +1.7 pp | 25.0% | |
| Services share | 57.0% | 2025 | 107/201 | 9/45 | +0.8 pp | 63.3% | |
| Investment | 23.8% | 2024 | 83/175 | 17/43 | −10.3 pp | 26.3% | |
| Savings | 32.2% | 2024 | 28/163 | 4/39 | −7.4 pp | 26.0% |
Prices & public financeFull prices & public finance profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inflation | 13.9% | 2025 | 16/180 | 9/44 | +3.8 pp | 3.0% | |
| Real interest rate | -3.9% | 2020 | 127/136 | 33/36 | −10.0 pp | — | |
| Lending rate | 9.5% | 2020 | 60/136 | 24/36 | −11.4 pp | — | |
| Exchange rate | 25.28 | 2025 | 90/210 | 37/47 | +193% | — | |
| Government debt | 71.4% | 2021 | 20/78 | 3/15 | +53.4 pp | — | |
| Tax revenue | 18.8% | 2024 | 53/142 | 9/32 | +3.1 pp | 13.9% | |
| Government expense | 25.1% | 2021 | 79/142 | 9/32 | +10.6 pp | 28.5% | |
| External debt | 114.2% | 2024 | 9/119 | 4/43 | +77.9 pp | — | |
| Military spending | 1.26% | 2025 | 102/156 | 24/45 | −0.5 pp | 2.48% |
Trade & investmentFull trade & investment profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exports | 35.0% | 2024 | 98/184 | 16/43 | −3.8 pp | 29.5% | |
| Imports | 27.6% | 2024 | 146/184 | 30/43 | −9.8 pp | 28.5% | |
| Trade openness | 62.5% | 2024 | 123/184 | 19/43 | −13.7 pp | 68.5% | |
| Current account | -5.5% | 2025 | 137/185 | 27/42 | −1.8 pp | — | |
| FDI inflows | 4.5% | 2025 | 46/197 | 15/46 | −3.0 pp | 1.4% | |
| Remittances | 1.4% | 2025 | 108/178 | 30/41 | +1.2 pp | 0.8% | |
| Tourist arrivals | 502,000 | 2020 | 123/196 | 17/42 | −38% | 2.4bn |
LabourFull labour profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployment | 5.9% | 2025 | 80/187 | 22/47 | ±0.0 pp | 4.8% | |
| Youth unemployment | 10.5% | 2025 | 111/187 | 21/47 | −1.9 pp | 13.4% | |
| Participation rate | 61.9% | 2025 | 90/187 | 27/47 | +3.2 pp | 61.0% | |
| Women's participation | 56.4% | 2025 | 74/187 | 27/47 | +4.6 pp | 48.9% |
Aid, poverty & equalityFull aid, poverty & equality profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net ODA received | $1.4bn | 2023 | 30/145 | 16/48 | +24% | $259bn | |
| ODA, % of GNI | 5.5% | 2023 | 44/139 | 22/47 | +1.2 pp | 0.2% | |
| ODA per person | $68.6 | 2023 | 70/145 | 24/48 | −7.7% | $32.2 | |
| Extreme poverty | 71.7% | 2022 | 6/151 | 6/44 | +0.3 pp | 10.1% | |
| Poverty, $4.20/day | 81.4% | 2022 | 8/151 | 8/44 | ±0.0 pp | 18.2% | |
| National poverty rate | 60.0% | 2022 | 6/145 | 5/45 | +3.0 pp | — | |
| Gini index | 51.5 | 2022 | 6/151 | 5/44 | −1.0% | — | |
| Undernourishment | 41.0% | 2024 | 4/167 | 3/44 | +3.7 pp | 8.1% | |
| Women in parliament | 15.0% | 2025 | 148/190 | 34/46 | +2.3 pp | 27.2% |
EducationFull education profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult literacy | 71.8% | 2024 | 112/141 | 19/41 | −11.4 pp | 87.7% | |
| Female literacy | 64.4% | 2024 | 116/147 | 19/41 | −13.6 pp | 84.6% | |
| Primary enrolment | 115.6% | 2024 | 18/191 | 9/41 | +8.5 pp | 102.2% | |
| Secondary enrolment | 56.8% | 2024 | 150/176 | 14/34 | +36.5 pp | 77.3% | |
| Tertiary enrolment | 4.0% | 2012 | — | — | +1.6 pp | 43.6% | |
| Primary completion | 81.8% | 2013 | — | — | +22.1 pp | 88.0% | |
| Pupils per teacher | 42.1 | 2017 | 15/173 | 13/40 | −24% | 23.4 | |
| Education spending | 4.1% | 2023 | 98/184 | 19/43 | +0.4 pp | 3.6% |
HealthFull health profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy | 66.5 yrs | 2024 | 181/217 | 17/48 | +11% | 73.5 yrs | |
| Infant mortality | 34.6 | 2024 | 35/196 | 29/48 | −20% | 27.7 | |
| Under-5 mortality | 48.4 | 2024 | 32/196 | 27/48 | −23% | 37.4 | |
| Maternal mortality | 85 | 2023 | 70/194 | 44/48 | −60% | 197 | |
| Health spending | 6.0% | 2023 | 105/193 | 16/48 | +1.4 pp | 10.1% | |
| Health spending per person | $79.6 | 2023 | 154/193 | 18/48 | −4.5% | $1,317 | |
| Physicians | 0.32 | 2022 | 138/180 | 12/46 | +440% | 1.86 | |
| Measles vaccination | 88% | 2024 | 118/193 | 16/48 | +3.0 pp | 84% | |
| HIV prevalence | 9.4% | 2024 | 7/153 | 7/44 | −2.5 pp | 0.7% | |
| Child stunting | 34.6% | 2018 | 21/154 | 13/46 | −11.2 pp | — | |
| Basic water | 73.4% | 2024 | 180/206 | 23/46 | +10.8 pp | 91.5% | |
| Basic sanitation | 37.5% | 2024 | 181/203 | 27/46 | +6.7 pp | 82.2% |
Digital & energy accessFull digital & energy access profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internet users | 17.1% | 2024 | 181/188 | 40/46 | +10.6 pp | 73.6% | |
| Mobile subscriptions | 108.7 | 2024 | 122/210 | 19/48 | +71% | 111.5 | |
| Fixed broadband | 0.8 | 2024 | 173/208 | 19/48 | +512% | 20.1 | |
| Electricity access | 53.6% | 2024 | 197/215 | 31/48 | +25.7 pp | 91.9% | |
| Clean cooking | 10.0% | 2024 | 171/192 | 28/48 | −5.0 pp | 75.4% |
EnvironmentFull environment profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CO₂ per person | 0.54 t | 2024 | 159/203 | 19/47 | +57% | 4.69 t | |
| Renewable energy | 83.0% | 2021 | 11/212 | 11/48 | −4.9 pp | 19.7% | |
| Renewable power | 92.0% | 2021 | 13/206 | 5/48 | −5.5 pp | 27.8% | |
| Forest cover | 60.5% | 2024 | 31/214 | 8/48 | −1.3 pp | 31.1% | |
| Arable land | 5.1% | 2024 | 138/206 | 35/48 | +0.1 pp | 10.7% | |
| Water withdrawals | 2.0% | 2022 | 131/177 | 27/47 | ±0.0 pp | 9.0% |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)
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