Zambia: Explore the key data
How do we know if a country is progressing? If life is getting better or worse? By exploring the core aspects of everyday life: How long do people live? Can they afford a decent lifestyle? Can they access medical care?
Explore the data and trends on life expectancy and overall health, poverty, and food security. Find out the country’s sources of finance and expenditures, including from donors. The data is pulled from official and credible sources and updates regularly, so what you see will always be the latest.
Key numbers
- On 28 February 2023, inflation in Zambia was 9.6%.
- The IMF estimates a GDP growth of 4.0% in 2023.
- 61.4% of the population of Zambia lives in extreme poverty, according to the latest World Bank data (2015).
- On 30 March, an estimated 3,156,335 people experienced insufficient food consumption (according to WFP HungerMapLive)
- As of 15 March, 43.7% of the population of Zambia is vaccinated against COVID-19 (according to OurWorldInData).
- Zambia will pay an estimated US$2,945.7 millionin debt service this year – about 34.4% of government spending.
The basics: How long are people living in Zambia? Are they healthy?
Life expectancy at birth
Leading causes of death in Zambia
Six of the top 10 causes of death in low-income countries are preventable infectious diseases.
These deaths are concentrated in the world’s poorest countries. Only one of these conditions (lower respiratory infections) appears in the top 10 for higher-income countries.
These deaths are completely preventable and treatable with better access to health services and health technologies like vaccines and medicine.
See also
⁄Among people living with HIV, the percent on antiretroviral therapy
Access to HIV/AIDS treatment has scaled up steadily since 2002 at a rate of about 2 million people per year.
In turn, AIDS-related deaths have dropped by over half since their peak in 2004.
As long as people living with HIV are on treatment, they can live long and healthy lives.
Sources
Malaria deaths
Over 600,000 people died from malaria in 2020. This chart shows the changes in deaths in the last two decades. Zambia is shown in purple.
The global malaria burden is disproportionately concentrated in Africa. In 2020, 95% of malaria cases and 96% of malaria deaths occurred in Africa.
Children under age 5 accounted for about 80% of all malaria deaths in Africa.
Childhood immunisation (Diphtheria tetanus toxoid and pertussis)
Coverage of the diphtheria tetanus toxoid and pertussis (DTP3) vaccine is considered a proxy for routine childhood immunisation. A child who receives all three doses before turning 1 likely has regular access to health services.
Globally, coverage of DTP3 has improved dramatically over the past 20 years.
But for the first time in three decades, global vaccination coverage among children is declining.
Sources
Financial security?
Poverty rates
Extreme poverty, defined as living on less than $2.15/day (in 2017 PPPs), has been declining in recent decades. But the pandemic may have pushed up to 97 million more people into extreme poverty, reversing the downward trend.
To put it in perspective, a healthy diet costs more than $3 a day in Africa.
Use the buttons to choose between the share of the population and the total population.
Sources
Inflation rates
This chart shows inflation rates over time.
Inflation stretches budgets even further, reducing purchasing power and making it harder for families to house, feed, and educate themselves.
Inflation refers to the year-on-year percentage change in the price of a standard basket of goods and services as calculated from the national Consumer Price Index.