Zambia — GDP growth
GDP Growth (Annual %) for Zambia, 1961–2025.
GDP growth for Zambia was 3.76% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 65 years, from 1961 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 16.65% in 1965. The lowest was -8.63% in 1994 (about -2.3× the latest value). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to 1.60% per year.
Zambia ranks 86 of 212 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 41%. The median for Sub-Saharan Africa is 4.61%, so Zambia sits below it. It peaked in 1965 and has fallen 77% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved up 29%. Within Sub-Saharan Africa it ranks 30 of 47 economies; Comoros (3.75%) is just below it. Its sharpest one-year move was up 10803% in 1972. That is 11% above this series' own ten-year average.
Data highlights
From its 1961 level: doubled by 1963; grown tenfold by 1965. Doubling roughly every 44 years at that pace.
World ranking. Climbed: 88th of 107 in 1961 → 73rd of 119 in 1970 → 73rd of 152 in 1980 → 135th of 176 in 1990 → 108th of 199 in 2000 → 11th of 209 in 2010 → 82nd of 209 in 2020 → 78th of 186 in 2025.
Key figures
Full history — 1961 to 2025
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3.76% | -0.1 pp |
| 2024 | 3.82% | -1.5 pp |
| 2023 | 5.37% | +0.2 pp |
| 2022 | 5.21% | -1.0 pp |
| 2021 | 6.23% | +9.0 pp |
| 2020 | -2.79% | -4.2 pp |
| 2019 | 1.44% | -2.6 pp |
| 2018 | 4.03% | +0.5 pp |
| 2017 | 3.53% | -0.2 pp |
| 2016 | 3.76% | +0.8 pp |
| 2015 | 2.92% | -1.8 pp |
| 2014 | 4.69% | -0.4 pp |
| 2013 | 5.06% | -2.5 pp |
| 2012 | 7.6% | +2.0 pp |
| 2011 | 5.57% | -4.7 pp |
| 2010 | 10.3% | +1.1 pp |
| 2009 | 9.22% | +1.4 pp |
| 2008 | 7.77% | -0.6 pp |
| 2007 | 8.35% | +0.4 pp |
| 2006 | 7.9% | +0.7 pp |
| 2005 | 7.24% | +0.2 pp |
| 2004 | 7.03% | +0.1 pp |
| 2003 | 6.94% | +2.4 pp |
| 2002 | 4.51% | -0.8 pp |
| 2001 | 5.32% | +1.4 pp |
| 2000 | 3.9% | -0.8 pp |
| 1999 | 4.65% | +5.0 pp |
| 1998 | -0.39% | -4.2 pp |
| 1997 | 3.81% | -2.4 pp |
| 1996 | 6.22% | +3.3 pp |
| 1995 | 2.9% | +11.5 pp |
| 1994 | -8.63% | -15.4 pp |
| 1993 | 6.8% | +8.5 pp |
| 1992 | -1.73% | -1.7 pp |
| 1991 | -0.04% | +0.4 pp |
| 1990 | -0.48% | +0.5 pp |
| 1989 | -1.02% | -7.3 pp |
| 1988 | 6.28% | +3.6 pp |
| 1987 | 2.68% | +2.0 pp |
| 1986 | 0.72% | -0.9 pp |
| 1985 | 1.62% | +2.0 pp |
| 1984 | -0.34% | +1.6 pp |
| 1983 | -1.97% | +0.8 pp |
| 1982 | -2.81% | -9.0 pp |
| 1981 | 6.17% | +3.1 pp |
| 1980 | 3.04% | +6.1 pp |
| 1979 | -3.02% | -3.6 pp |
| 1978 | 0.55% | +5.1 pp |
| 1977 | -4.56% | -10.8 pp |
| 1976 | 6.22% | +8.5 pp |
| 1975 | -2.27% | -8.7 pp |
| 1974 | 6.43% | +7.4 pp |
| 1973 | -0.96% | -10.2 pp |
| 1972 | 9.21% | +9.3 pp |
| 1971 | -0.09% | -4.9 pp |
| 1970 | 4.8% | +5.2 pp |
| 1969 | -0.44% | -1.7 pp |
| 1968 | 1.25% | -6.7 pp |
| 1967 | 7.92% | +13.5 pp |
| 1966 | -5.57% | -22.2 pp |
| 1965 | 16.65% | +4.4 pp |
| 1964 | 12.21% | +8.9 pp |
| 1963 | 3.27% | +5.8 pp |
| 1962 | -2.49% | -3.9 pp |
| 1961 | 1.36% | — |
Frequently asked questions
What was Zambia’s GDP growth in 1962?
-2.49% (1962). The full year-by-year table above lists every published year, most recent first.
Are changes in this series measured in percentage points?
Yes. The series is a share expressed in annual %, so year-over-year movements in the Change column are percentage points (pp), not percent.
Is Zambia’s GDP growth growing or shrinking?
Between 1961 and 2025 the series was growing overall: +176.0% in total — about 1.6% a year compounded.
Where does this data come from?
World Bank Open Data (CC BY-4.0), indicator NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG. Values are reproduced as published; this page only computes summary statistics such as change, CAGR and extremes.
What are the most recent published figures?
The last five published years: 2025: 3.76%; 2024: 3.82%; 2023: 5.37%; 2022: 5.21%; 2021: 6.23%. Earlier years are in the full-history table below.
Related data
NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG — GDP Growth (Annual %). Data licensed under CC BY 4.0. Values are reproduced as published; this page computes the summary statistics (change, CAGR, extremes) from the underlying annual series. View the original dataset on data.worldbank.org.