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Zambia · data for latest available · data as of 26 October 2026 · printed 27 Oct 2026
NationsTree / Countries / Zambia
2025
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Zambia

Sub-Saharan Africa Capital Lusaka Lower middle income Nation age 62 years (since 1964) i ZMB · ZM
NationsTree Index 2025 i31.3160th of 196 Tree height 2025 i5.3 msee ranking Military strength i31percentile
Population i21.9 m61st of 217 Area i752,612 km²38th of 216 GDP i$28.88 bn116th of 210 GDP (PPP) i$95.97 bn intl.103rd of 199 GDP per person (PPP) i$4,379 intl.173rd of 199 Life expectancy i66.5 years181st of 217
Index pillars
Foundations · roots i24
Strength · trunk i47
Quality of life · crown i12
Problems (higher = fewer) · dry branches i29
Direction (5-year change) · new shoots i71
CSV

In short

Zambia is 160th of 196 countries in the NationsTree Index, with a score of 31.3 out of 100; its tree is 5.3 m tall.

It has 21.9 million people and an economy of $95.97 bn at purchasing power parity, 103rd of 199 in the world.

Its strongest positions: Renewable energy (10th of 212), CO₂ emissions per person (45th of 203) and Renewable freshwater per person (70th of 183).

Its weakest positions: Extreme poverty (107th of 108), Income inequality (Gini) (106th of 108) and Internet users (180th of 186).

Over five years it climbed from 174th to 160th in the index.

All data

Data as of 26 October 2026

Latest available value for each indicator, with its year. World rank is among countries with recent data (last 5 years of the series).

Land & people

59
Surface area ikm² 752,612 38th/216
Land area ikm² 743,390 37th/216
Population ipeople 21.9 m 61st/217
Population growth i% 2.77% 19th/217
Population density ipeople/km² 28.7 175th/216
Urban population i% 45.9% 159th/217
Population aged 0–14 i% 41.0% 18th/217
Population aged 65+ i% 2.0% 215th/217

Economy

30
GDP iUSD $28.88 bn 116th/210
GDP (PPP) iintl. USD $95.97 bn 103rd/199
Real GDP (PPP, constant 2021 prices) iintl. USD 2021 $82.01 bn 104th/199
GDP per person iUSD $1,318 187th/210
GDP per person (PPP) iintl. USD $4,379 173rd/199
GNI per person (Atlas) iUSD $1,200 180th/201
GDP growth i% 3.8% 86th/210
Inflation i% 13.9% 165th/180
Unemployment i% 5.9% 108th/187
Central government debt i% of GDP 71.4% 39th/55
General government gross debt i% of GDP 100.6% 170th/189
Government budget balance i% of GDP -3.8% 125th/192

Main industries

54
Agriculture, forestry, fishing i% of GDP 4.1% 113th/197
Industry incl. construction i% of GDP 35.3% 31st/200
Manufacturing i% of GDP 8.7% 114th/192
Services i% of GDP 57.0% 106th/200

Trade

41
Exports of goods & services iUSD $8.85 bn 115th/182
Imports of goods & services iUSD $6.97 bn 128th/182
Exports i% of GDP 35.0% 97th/183
Imports i% of GDP 27.6% 145th/183
Trade openness i% of GDP 62.5% 122nd/183
Fuel exports i% of merchandise exports 2.7% 90th/170
Manufactures exports i% of merchandise exports 14.1% 121st/171
Food exports i% of merchandise exports 8.7% 122nd/171
Ores & metals exports i% of merchandise exports 73.0% 2nd/171
High-tech exports i% of manufactured exports 1.5% 143rd/168
Current account balance i% of GDP -5.5% 144th/191
Foreign direct investment, inflows i% of GDP 4.5% 46th/196

Natural resources

71
Natural resource rents i% of GDP 35.3% 5th/209
Oil rents i% of GDP 0.00% 120th/197
Natural gas rents i% of GDP 0.00% 100th/197
Coal rents i% of GDP 0.23% 23rd/195
Mineral rents i% of GDP 28.25% 2nd/209
Forest rents i% of GDP 6.78% 11th/209
Arable land i% of land area 5.1% 138th/206
Renewable freshwater per person im³ 3,980 70th/183

Tourism

37
International tourist arrivals iarrivals 502,000 122nd/194

Society & health

20
Life expectancy iyears 66.5 181st/217
Under-5 mortality iper 1,000 births 48.4 165th/196
Physicians iper 1,000 people 0.32 132nd/174
Hospital beds iper 1,000 people 2.02010
DPT immunization i% of children 12–23 months 91% 93rd/193
Completed lower secondary, 25+ i% of adults 44.1% 118th/153
Secondary enrolment i% gross 56.8% 149th/173
Social protection coverage (incl. pensions) i% of population 2.3%2015
Old-age dependency ratio i% of working-age population 3.5% 215th/217
Health spending i% of GDP 6.0% 105th/193
Adult literacy i% 71.8% 77th/98
Tertiary enrolment i% gross 4.0%2012
Human Development Index iindex 0–1 0.595 154th/193
Income inequality (Gini) iindex 51.5 106th/108
Extreme poverty i% of population 71.7% 107th/108

Infrastructure & digital

21
Access to electricity i% of population 53.6% 197th/215
Internet users i% of population 17.1% 180th/186
Mobile subscriptions iper 100 people 109 122nd/210
Fixed broadband iper 100 people 0.8 173rd/208
Trade & transport infrastructure quality (LPI) iscore 1–5 2.30 117th/164
Rail lines iroute-km 1,248 62nd/82
Air passengers carried ipassengers 321,739 124th/161

Environment & energy

66
CO₂ emissions per person it CO₂e 0.54 45th/203
Renewable energy i% of final energy use 83.0% 10th/212
Air pollution (PM2.5) iµg/m³ 20.2 120th/200
Forest area i% of land area 60.5% 31st/214
Energy use per person ikg oil eq. 812 103rd/149

Institutions & safety

38
Government effectiveness iscore 0–100 44.4 136th/205
Control of corruption iscore 0–100 38.9 129th/207
Rule of law iscore 0–100 50.5 135th/207
Political stability iscore 0–100 64.6 121st/207
Regulatory quality iscore 0–100 47.7 132nd/205
Voice & accountability iscore 0–100 52.1 120th/205
Homicide rate iper 100,000 5.22015

Military

26
Military expenditure iUSD $405.9 m 111th/156
Military expenditure i% of GDP 1.3% 102nd/156
Military expenditure i% of government spending 4.5% 92nd/154
Armed forces personnel ipeople 16,000 113th/170
Armed forces personnel i% of labour force 0.24% 150th/168
Arms imports (SIPRI TIV) iTIV 1.0 m 150th/163
Arms exports (SIPRI TIV) iTIV 2.0 m1990

Science & innovation

38
R&D spending i% of GDP 0.28%2008
Patent applications by residents iapplications 18 92nd/137
Scientific articles iarticles 367 112th/197

Compare Zambia with

MaliSenegalSudanZimbabwe

Sources

Figures on this page come from: World Bank — World Development Indicators, International Monetary Fund — World Economic Outlook (DataMapper), Global Change Data Lab (Our World in Data) — Our World in Data, World Bank — Worldwide Governance Indicators . Nation age: Wikidata P571 (inception) (source). Every value is stored with its year and source series; see Sources & licences and Methodology.

Cite as: NationsTree (2026). Zambia — country profile. https://nationstree.org/countries/zambia. Data as of 26 October 2026.

All figures come from official statistics published by public institutions (World Bank WDI and WGI, compiling UN agencies, IMF, WHO and national statistical offices). Each value carries its year; ranks are positions among countries with data.
Cite as: NationsTree (2026). Zambia — country profile. https://nationstree.org/countries/zambia. Data as of 26 October 2026.
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