Form of Government: Republic
Area: 752 612 sq km
Population: 17 885 422 inhab. (estimate 2020)
Density: 23.76 inhab./sq km
Coordinates: lat. 8° - 18° S; long. 22° - 34° E
Capital: Lusaka (capital) 1 747 152 inhab. (2010); Lusaka 2 523 844 inhab. (2018), urban agglomeration
Currency: Zambian kwacha (100 ngwee)
Human development index: 0.584 (rank: 146)
President and head of government: Hakainde Hichilema (UPND), elected 12 August 2021, in office since 24 August 2021
National Assembly: seats based on the elections of 12 August 2021: UPND (United Party for National Development), 82; PF (Patriotic Front), 59; PNUP (Party of National Unity and Progress), 3; independents, 13
Internet: www.zamstats.gov.zm (Central Statistical Office)
Member of AU, COMESA, Commonwealth, SADC, UN, WTO
Zambia

International license plate code Z
International dialling code 00260
Travel vaccinations requirement yellow fever (required only if traveling from a country with risk of transmission, including travelers having transited more than 12 hours through the airport of a country with risk of transmission); malaria prophylaxis (recommended)
Electricity (Voltage) 230
Driving side left
Internet code .zm
GMT +2
DST not applied
Annual average temperature (°C) Lusaka 20.6
Average temperature in January/July (°C) Lusaka 21.5/16.5
Daily sunshine hours in June/December (average) Lusaka 9/6
Annual average precipitation (mm) Lusaka 835
Days of rainfall (annual average) Lusaka 71

In the general elections of 12 August 2021, Hakainde Hichilema (UPND) defeated the incumbent President, Edgar Lungu (PF), with 59.4% of the votes.
Geography.
Zambia is bordered to the north by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the north-east by Tanzania and Malawi, to the east by Mozambique, to the south by Zimbabwe and Botswana, to the south-west by Namibia and to the west by Angola. The terrain consists of a highland area in which the Muchinga Mountains can be found. To the north there is a vast, swampy depression, while in the south-west the altitude drops until it reaches the basin of the River Zambezi, whose course is interrupted by waterfalls and rapids (the huge Victoria Falls). The climate is tropical, summer rains getting less prevalent from north to south.
Government
A former British colony called Northern Rhodesia, Zambia became independent on 24 October 1964. The multiparty elections of 1991 put an end to the long presidency of Kenneth Kaunda (1964-91) and to the long predominance of the UNIP, the sole ruling party from 1972 to 1990. Since then, the presidency of the country has alternated between different parties. According to the Constitution of 28 May 1996, the President of the Republic, who is also head of the government, is elected by direct suffrage for a five-year term, as is the National Assembly (163 members, of which 155 are elected and 8 are appointed by the President), which holds legislative power. In addition, there is a Council of Chiefs, a consultative body with 50 representatives of the different ethnic groups. The legal system is based on British Common Law.
Defence.
Military service is voluntary.
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Air force | 10.6 | % | 2015 |
Army | 89.4 | % | 2015 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Homicides | 5.3 | per 100 000 pop. | 2015 |
Administrative division
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Lusaka | 1 747 152 | inhab. | 2010 |
Kitwe | 501 360 | inhab. | 2010 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Lusaka | 2 523 844 | inhab. | 2018 |
Population
Population by age and gender (% - 2020) | ||||||||
| ||||||||
MALE | AGE | FEMALE |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Birth rate | 35.776 | ‰ | 2019 |
Death rate | 6.321 | ‰ | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
other | 35.5 | % | 2010 |
Bemba | 21$ | % | 2010 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Protestant | 75.3 | % | 2010 |
Catholic | 20.2 | % | 2010 |
DESCRIPTION |
---|
English |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
0-14 years | 43.8 | % | 2020 |
15-29 years | 27.7 | % | 2020 |
Economy
Economic situation.
The economy is sensitive to the trend of agricultural productivity and the price of copper, recovering in 2021 after the decline due to the COVID-19 pandemic. An ambitious infrastructural plan, with Chinese financing, increased the public debt; interest on the debt (in dollars), compounded by the devaluation of the local currency, made the financial situation precarious, tipping the country into insolvency in November 2020. Foreign investment played a considerable role in the mining, farming and manufacturing segments. Due to major disparity in the distribution of wealth and rapid population increase, economic growth has little impact on the poverty that affects most of the population.
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Agricultural prod. index (2004-06=100) | 182.94 | index | 2016 |
Agricultural prod. index (2014-16=100) | 110.44 | index | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Active population | 7 636 664 | units | 2020 |
Active population, Females | 48.3 | % | 2020 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Unemployment rate | 12.2 | % | 2020 |
Unemployment rate, Females | 51.8 | % | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Expenses | 73 700 000 | M LCU | 2018 |
Revenues | 53 400 000 | M LCU | 2018 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
agriculture | 48.8 | % | 2019 |
industry | 10.8 | % | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
agriculture | 3.394 | % | 2019 |
industry | 36.782 | % | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Currency in circulation | 12.389 | BN LCU | 2020 |
International reserves | 1 203.448 | M US$ | 2020 |
Agriculture
Primary sector.
Cereals (maize and wheat) are mostly growth for domestic consumption as well as vegetable and cassava. Commercially grown agricultural products include maize, sugar cane, tobacco, cotton and sunflower seed.
The forests are a rich natural resource, providing teak and mahogany. Fishing is important in Lakes Mweru, Kariba, Tanganyika and Bangweulu, and in the River Kafue and River Luapula.
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
arable land | 5.16 | % | 2018 |
forests | 60.79 | % | 2018 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
barley | 11.687 | 1000 t | 2019 |
cereals, total | 2 229.037 | 1000 t | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
cassava | 4 036.584 | 1000 t | 2019 |
potatoes | 38.786 | 1000 t | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
artichokes | 0.805 | 1000 t | 2016 |
onions, dry | 39.198 | 1000 t | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
groundnuts | 130.825 | 1000 t | 2019 |
soybeans | 281.389 | 1000 t | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
coffee | 6.976 | 1000 t | 2019 |
pepper | 0.009 | 1000 t | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
sugar cane | 4 994.302 | 1000 t | 2019 |
tobacco | 153.839 | 1000 t | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
seed cotton | 72.508 | 1000 t | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
fruits, total | 115.905 | 1000 t | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
citrus fruits | 3.922 | 1000 t | 2019 |
oranges | 3.922 | 1000 t | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
bananas | 0.644 | 1000 t | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
barley | 11.117 | 1000 ha | 2019 |
maize | 841.693 | 1000 ha | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
cassava | 126.869 | 1000 ha | 2019 |
potatoes | 2.016 | 1000 ha | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
onions, dry | 2.547 | 1000 ha | 2019 |
tomatoes | 2.661 | 1000 ha | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
groundnuts | 208.483 | 1000 ha | 2019 |
soybeans | 196.287 | 1000 ha | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
coffee | 7.736 | 1000 ha | 2019 |
pepper | 0.011 | 1000 ha | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
sugar cane | 48.336 | 1000 ha | 2019 |
tobacco | 88.482 | 1000 ha | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
seed cotton | 88.748 | 1000 ha | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
citrus fruits | 0.888 | 1000 ha | 2019 |
oranges | 0.888 | 1000 ha | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
bananas | 0.146 | 1000 ha | 2019 |
Forests-Livestock-Fishing
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
timber | 25 725 000 | m³ | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
cattle | 3 683.859 | 1000 heads | 2019 |
cattle and buffaloes | 3 683.859 | 1000 heads | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
pigs | 1 207.294 | 1000 heads | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
sheep | 266.175 | 1000 heads | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
goats | 2 886.889 | 1000 heads | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
asses | 2.2 | 1000 heads | 2019 |
asses and mules | 2.2 | 1000 heads | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
birds | 41 880 | 1000 heads | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
honey | 0.823 | 1000 t | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
butter | 1.707 | 1000 t | 2018 |
cheese | 6.022 | 1000 t | 2018 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
freshwater fishes | 135 943 | t | 2019 |
total catch | 135 943 | t | 2019 |
Minerals
Secondary sector.
Mineral mining plays a crucial role in the economy of Zambia. The main product is copper, mined in Luanshya, Mufulira, Kansanshi, Chibuluma, Chambishi, Nchanga, Rhokana, Bwana and Mkubwa. There are mines for nickel (at Bindura), manganese (at Chiwefwe and Kampumba), coal (ta Maamba), cadmium (at Kabwe), lead, tin, pyrites, and emeralds. Gold, silver, selenium and, above all, cobalt are also produced as by-products of copper refining. The mineral-rich area of Kabwe is supplied by the hydroelectric power stations on the Mulungushi and Lunsemfwa rivers; energy coming from the Kariba plant, on the Zambezi, is shared with Zimbabwe; other power stations are in operation near the Victoria Falls, to serve Livingstone area, and on the Kafue River. Important industrial plants include those for the concentration and electro-refining of copper (at Nkana, Mufulira, Chingola, Ndola, Luanshya) as well as the metal-working plants at Kabwe.
At Ndola there is a refinery using oil coming via a pipeline from Dar es Salaam (Tanzania). There are also some chemical plants (at Kafue), cement works (near Luanda and Ndola), rubber plants (tyres at Ndola), textile mills (at Kafue), machine industries (assembly and production of tractors at Lusaka, motor-vehicle assembly at Ndola), sugar refineries (Ndola and Nakambala) and tobacco plants, breweries (beer) and paper mills.
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
coal | 1 323.3 | 1000 t | 2019 |
coal, total | 1 323.3 | 1000 t | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
cobalt | 0.42 | 1000 t | 2019 |
copper | 830 | 1000 t | 2020 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
emeralds | 12 000 | 1000 ct | 2018 |
gold | 3 899 | kg | 2018 |
Energy
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
- hydro | 13 556.07 | M kWh | 2018 |
- thermal | 2 346.24 | M kWh | 2018 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
- hydro | 2 400 | 1000 kW | 2019 |
- thermal | 499 | 1000 kW | 2018 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
total net generation | 15 981 | M kWh | 2018 |
total installed capacity | 2 943.02 | 1000 kW | 2018 |
Industry
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
cobalt | 1.5 | 1000 t | 2019 |
copper | 360 | 1000 t | 2020 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
bitumen | 5$ | 1000 t | 2012 |
petrol | 148.7 | 1000 t | 2014 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
sulfuric acid | 594 | 1000 t | 2018 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
beer of barley | 300 | 1000 t | 2018 |
cottonseed oil | 8.4 | 1000 t | 2018 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
other paper | 1$ | 1000 t | 2019 |
paper | 1$ | 1000 t | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
cement | 2 751.1 | 1000 t | 2018 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
chemicals production | 161.185 | M US$ | 2015 |
food, beverages and tobacco production | 512.272 | M US$ | 2015 |
Trade
Tertiary sector.
The trade balance is in surplus, thanks to the export of raw materials, largely minerals and metals (especially copper, nickel and cobalt). Tobacco and timber are also important. The main trading partners are Switzerland, South Africa and China. The central bank is the Bank of Zambia. There is a stock exchange in Lusaka.
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
ores and metals | 74.934 | % of goods exports | 2019 |
manufactures | 14.25 | % of goods exports | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Switzerland | 3 673 | M US$ | 2010 |
China | 1 455 | M US$ | 2010 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
South Africa | 1 830 | M US$ | 2010 |
Congo, Dem. Rep. | 1 269 | M US$ | 2010 |
Tourism
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Expenditures | 511 | M US$ | 2019 |
Number of arrivals | 1 266 000 | units | 2019 |
Social and welfare
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Gross enrolment ratio, primary - Female | 99.904 | index | 2017 |
Gross enrolment ratio, primary - Male | 97.543 | index | 2017 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Students, primary level | 3 284 841 | units | 2017 |
Students, secondary level | 646 455 | units | 2008 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Hospital beds | 2$ | per 1000 pop. | 2010 |
Physicians | 1.19 | per 1000 pop. | 2018 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
HIV | 11.5 | % of adults | 2019 |
HIV, total | 17$ | % | 2005 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Research and development spending | 0.34 | % of GDP | 2008 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking | 15.7 | % | 2019 |
Access to electricity | 43$ | % | 2019 |