Zambia had one of the world’s fastest growing economies for the ten years up to 2014, with real GDP growth averaging roughly 6.7% per annum, though growth slowed during the period 2015 to 2017, due to falling copper prices, reduced power generation, and depreciation of the kwacha. Zambia’s lack of economic diversification and dependency on copper as its sole major export makes it vulnerable to fluctuations in the world commodities market and prices turned downward in 2015 due to declining demand from China; Zambia was overtaken by the Democratic Republic of Congo as Africa’s largest copper producer. GDP growth picked up in 2017 as mineral prices rose.
Despite recent strong economic growth and its status as a lower middle-income country, widespread and extreme rural poverty and high unemployment levels remain significant problems, made worse by a high birth rate, a relatively high HIV/AIDS burden, by market-distorting agricultural and energy policies, and growing government debt. Zambia raised $7 billion from international investors by issuing separate sovereign bonds in 2012, 2014, and 2015. Concurrently, it issued over $4 billion in domestic debt and agreed to Chinese-financed infrastructure projects, significantly increasing the country’s public debt burden to more than 60% of GDP. The government has considered refinancing $3 billion worth of Eurobonds and significant Chinese loans to cut debt servicing costs.
$60.12 billion (2020 est.)
$61.99 billion (2019 est.)
$61.1 billion (2018 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
3.4% (2017 est.)
3.8% (2016 est.)
2.9% (2015 est.)
$3,300 (2020 est.)
$3,500 (2019 est.)
$3,500 (2018 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
$25.71 billion (2017 est.)
9.1% (2019 est.)
7.4% (2018 est.)
6.5% (2017 est.)
Fitch rating: RD (2020)
Moody's rating: Ca (2020)
Standard & Poors rating: SD (2020)
note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.
agriculture: 7.5% (2017 est.)
industry: 35.3% (2017 est.)
services: 57% (2017 est.)
household consumption: 52.6% (2017 est.)
government consumption: 21% (2017 est.)
investment in fixed capital: 27.1% (2017 est.)
investment in inventories: 1.2% (2017 est.)
exports of goods and services: 43% (2017 est.)
imports of goods and services: -44.9% (2017 est.)
sugar cane, cassava, maize, milk, vegetables, soybeans, beef, tobacco, wheat, groundnuts
copper mining and processing, emerald mining, construction, foodstuffs, beverages, chemicals, textiles, fertilizer, horticulture
4.7% (2017 est.)
6.898 million (2017 est.)
agriculture: 54.8%
industry: 9.9%
services: 35.3% (2017 est.)
15% (2008 est.)
50% (2000 est.)
total: 11%
male: 11.4%
female: 10.6% (2020 est.)
54.4% (2015 est.)
57.1 (2015 est.)
50.8 (2004)
lowest 10%: 1.5%
highest 10%: 47.4% (2010)
revenues: 4.473 billion (2017 est.)
expenditures: 6.357 billion (2017 est.)
-7.3% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
63.1% of GDP (2017 est.)
60.7% of GDP (2016 est.)
17.4% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
calendar year
-$1.006 billion (2017 est.)
-$934 million (2016 est.)
$8.55 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$8.26 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$9.98 billion (2018 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
Switzerland 29%, China 16%, Namibia 12%, Democratic Republic of the Congo 9%, Singapore 5% (2019)
copper, gold, gemstones, sulfuric acid, raw sugar, tobacco (2019)
$5.92 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$8.04 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$10.19 billion (2018 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
South Africa 29%, China 14%, United Arab Emirates 12%, India 5% (2019)
refined petroleum, crude petroleum, delivery trucks, gold, fertilizers (2019)
$2.082 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
$2.353 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$11.66 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
$9.562 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
Zambian kwacha (ZMK) per US dollar -
21.065 (2020 est.)
15.3736 (2019 est.)
11.855 (2018 est.)
8.6 (2014 est.)
6.2 (2013 est.)
NOTE: The information regarding Zambia on this page is re-published from the 2022 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Zambia 2022 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Zambia 2022 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
This page was last modified 01 Dec 23, Copyright © 23 ITA all rights reserved.