Polity · 1967 CE – present
Zambia
Republic of Zambia
Also recorded as Republic of Zambia
- Peak recorded area
- 746,916 km²
- 1967 CE
- Rulers on record
- 8
- from 1964 CE
- Data series
- 391
- 1967 CE–2025 CE
Overview
Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered to the north by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique to the southeast, Zimbabwe and Botswana to the south, Namibia to the southwest, and Angola to the west. The capital city of Zambia is Lusaka, located in the south-central part of Zambia.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
2 dated territorial extents on record from Cliopatria. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated. CShapes 2.0 holds 2 further extents, measured on a different basis and deliberately not merged into this series.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before the last complete year, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
6 of 60 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Population216 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 21.9Mpersons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy165 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 66.7years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Net Migration141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 6,562persons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Population Growth141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 2.75% annual2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Female140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 69.07years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Male140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 64.25years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
Economy
6 of 155 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita PPP220 obs · 1800 CE–2019 CE | 4,600int'l $ (inflation adj.)2019 CE · Gapminder |
| GDP per capita112 obs · 1906 CE–2022 CE | 3,342.422011 int'l $2022 CE · Maddison Project Database 2023 |
| GDP Current Usd111 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 28.9Bcurrent US$2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Agriculture % GDP66 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 4.11% of GDP2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Industry % GDP66 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 35.33% of GDP2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Fao Asses Stocks64 obs · 1961 CE–2024 CE | 2,261head2024 CE · FAOSTAT |
Military
6 of 32 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| CINC Score53 obs · 1964 CE–2016 CE | 0.0009CINC (share of world capability)2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Energy Consumption53 obs · 1964 CE–2016 CE | 13.5Mcoal-ton equivalents2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Iron Steel Production53 obs · 1964 CE–2016 CE | 0tons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Personnel53 obs · 1964 CE–2016 CE | 15Kpersons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Expenditure52 obs · 1964 CE–2016 CE | 281Mcurrent USD2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Mil Equip Aircraft Transport45 obs · 1970 CE–2014 CE | 23count2014 CE · rDMC Military Capabilities v1.0 |
Territory & resources
6 of 58 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Arable Land %126 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 5.11% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Coal Production117 obs · 1900 CE–2016 CE | 0.906TWh2016 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Forest Area %68 obs · 1990 CE–2023 CE | 59.52% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Agricultural Land %63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 32.07%2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Arable Land per capita Ha63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 0.1834hectares per person2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Fao Agricultural Land63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 23.8Mha2023 CE · FAOSTAT |
Governance
6 of 29 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Electoral Democracy Index114 obs · 1911 CE–2024 CE | 0.51index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Liberal Democracy Index114 obs · 1911 CE–2024 CE | 0.392index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Participatory Democracy Index114 obs · 1911 CE–2024 CE | 0.357index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Regime Type114 obs · 1911 CE–2024 CE | 2RoW index (0-3)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Rule Of Law Index114 obs · 1911 CE–2024 CE | 0.674index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Checks And Balances49 obs · 1975 CE–2023 CE | 3count2023 CE · Database of Political Institutions (DPI) 2023 |
Development
6 of 57 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Freedom Of Expression Index114 obs · 1911 CE–2024 CE | 0.813index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Tech Railway Line Km94 obs · 1873 CE–1998 CE | 1,273km1998 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Mobile Subscriptions Per 10052 obs · 1960 CE–2023 CE | 102.06per_1002023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Tech Electricity Production49 obs · 1950 CE–1998 CE | 7.8BGWh1998 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Primary Enrollment Gross %45 obs · 1970 CE–2024 CE | 115.55%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Education Expenditure % GDP44 obs · 1970 CE–2023 CE | 4.07% of GDP2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Rulers
8 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- Kenneth KaundaHead of State1964 CE – 1991 CE
- Frederick ChilubaHead of State1991 CE – 2002 CE
- Levy MwanawasaHead of State2002 CE – 2008 CE
- Rupiah BandaHead of State2008 CE – 2011 CE
- Michael SataHead of State2011 CE – 2014 CE
- Guy ScottHead of State2014 CE – 2015 CE
- Edgar LunguHead of State2015 CE – 2021 CE
- Hakainde HichilemaHead of State2021 CE –
Country profile
From the CIA World Factbook 2024. Long entries are trimmed at a sentence boundary.
- Location
- Southern Africa, east of Angola, south of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Government type
- presidential republic
- Executive branch
- chief of state: President Hakainde HICHILEMA (since 24 August 2021); head of government: President Hakainde HICHILEMA (since 24 August 2021); cabinet: Cabinet appointed by president from among members of the National Assembly;
- Ethnic groups
- Bemba 21%, Tonga 13.6%, Chewa 7.4%, Lozi 5.7%, Nsenga 5.3%, Tumbuka 4.4%, Ngoni 4%, Lala 3.1%, Kaonde 2.9%, Namwanga 2.8%, Lunda (north Western) 2.6%, Mambwe 2.5%, Luvale 2.2%, Lamba 2.1%, Ushi 1.9%, Lenje 1.6%, Bisa 1.6%, Mbunda 1.2%, other 13.8%, unspecified 0.4% (2010 est.)
- Natural resources
- copper, cobalt, zinc, lead, coal, emeralds, gold, silver, uranium, hydropower
- Economy
- lower-middle-income sub-Saharan economy; regional hydroelectricity producer; trade ties and infrastructure investments from China; IMF assistance to restructure debt burden; one of youngest and fastest-growing labor forces; systemic corruption; extreme rural poverty
Language & currency
- Currency
- Zambian kwacha (ZMK)
Memberships
- United NationsUNInternational organisation · member1964 CE –
- Commonwealth of NationsCWInternational organisation · member1964 CE –
- Democratic Republic of the Congo–Angola–Zambia Non-Aggression Pact (1979)Historical alliance · member1979 CE – 1982 CE
- SADCSADCEconomic bloc · founding member1992 CE –
- African UnionAUInternational organisation · founding member2002 CE –
- 11-member Defense Pact (2006)Military alliance · member2006 CE –
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
CHAT (Comin-Hobijn)2009 (FinalCHAT_72909)
Comin, D. & Hobijn, B. (2009). The CHAT Dataset. NBER Working Paper 15319.
NBER research data, freely downloadable
CIA World Factbook 2024
Seshat Global History Databank. Cliopatria: a historical basemap of polity borders (cliopatria.geojson).
Correlates of War NMC v6.0v6.0
Singer, J.D. (1987). National Material Capabilities Data (NMC), v6.0. Correlates of War Project.
Free academic use, citation
Database of Political Institutions (DPI) 2023DPI 2023
Cruz, C., Keefer, P. & Scartascini, C. (2023). Database of Political Institutions 2023. Inter-American Development Bank.
IDB open data, attribution
FAOSTAT2024 release
FAO (2024). FAOSTAT Statistical Database. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
CC BY 4.0
Gapminderv14 / systema globalis
Gapminder Foundation. Gapminder systema globalis dataset.
CC BY 4.0
Maddison Project Database 20232023
Bolt, J. & van Zanden, J.L. (2024). Maddison Project Database 2023. University of Groningen GGDC.
CC BY 4.0
Our World in Data (2024). Energy dataset. Based on Energy Institute & Ember.
CC BY 4.0
rDMC Military Capabilities v1.0v1.0
Reconstructed Data on Military Capabilities (rDMC), v1.0. Harvard Dataverse.
Academic use, attribution
UN World Population Prospects 20242024
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024.
CC BY 3.0 IGO
V-Dem v15v15
Coppedge, M. et al. (2025). V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v15. Varieties of Democracy Project.
Free academic/non-commercial use, attribution
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators. Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0