Overview: For more than a decade the economy has been in severe recession with rising unemployment, declining imports, and growing foreign debt. Economic difficulties stem from a sustained drop in copper prices, declining copper production, four years of drought, and ineffective economic policies. In 1987 real GDP stood only slightly higher than that of 10 years before, while an annual population growth of more than 3% has brought a decline in per capita GDP of 25% during the same period. A high inflation rate has also added to Zambia's economic woes in recent years.

GDP: $2.0 billion, per capita $240; real growth rate - 0.2% (1987)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 58.0% (1987)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues $540 million; expenditures $787 million, including capital expenditures of $36 million (1987 est.)

Exports: $866 million (f.o.b., 1987); @m5commodities--copper, zinc, cobalt, lead, tobacco; @m5partners--EC, Japan, South Africa, US

Imports: $765 million (c.i.f., 1987); @m5commodities--machinery, transportation equipment, foodstuffs, fuels, manufactures; @m5partners--EC, Japan, South Africa, US

External debt: $5 billion (July 1988)

Industrial production: growth rate - 0.7% (1986)

Electricity: 1,900,000 kW capacity; 8,244 million kWh produced, 1,090 kWh per capita (1988)

Industries: copper mining and processing, transport, construction, foodstuffs, beverages, chemicals, textiles, and fertilizer

Agriculture: corn, tobacco, cotton; net importer of most major agricultural products

Aid: NA

Currency: Zambian kwacha (plural--kwacha); 1 Zambian kwacha (ZK) = 100 ngwee

Exchange rates: Zambian kwacha (ZK) per US$1--9.8814 (December 1988), 8.2237 (1988), 8.8889 (1987), 7.3046 (1986), 2.7137 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

NOTE: The information regarding Zambia on this page is re-published from the 1989 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Zambia Economy 1989 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Zambia Economy 1989 should be addressed to the CIA.