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Zambia — Labor participation
Labor Force Participation Rate for Zambia, 1990–2025.
Latest value · 2025
61.93%
Labor Force Participation Rate · % of population ages 15+ · +3.8% since 1990
Labor participation for Zambia was 61.93% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 36 years, from 1990 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 61.96% in 2023. The lowest was 58.48% in 2018 (about 1.1× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to 0.11% per year.
Zambia ranks 90 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 48%. The median for Sub-Saharan Africa is 64.31%, so Zambia sits below it. It peaked in 2023 and has fallen 0% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved up 5%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
61.93%
First (1990)
59.65%
Change
+3.8%
Highest
61.96%
in 2023
Lowest
58.48%
in 2018
Average
59.57%
Annual growth (CAGR)
0.11%
Years of data
36
Recent years
| Year | % of population ages 15+ |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 61.93% |
| 2024 | 61.9% |
| 2023 | 61.96% |
| 2022 | 59.53% |
| 2021 | 60.1% |
| 2020 | 60.87% |
| 2019 | 59.54% |
| 2018 | 58.48% |
| 2017 | 58.58% |
| 2016 | 58.67% |
| 2015 | 58.76% |
| 2014 | 58.84% |
Reading this correctly. Proportion of the population aged 15 and above that is economically active: supplying labor for the production of goods and services. Figures are in % of population ages 15+. Comparing this series with a different measure of the same concept (for example a nominal figure against a purchasing-power-parity figure) will give misleading results.
Related data
Source. World Bank Open Data, indicator
SL.TLF.CACT.ZS — Labor Force Participation Rate. 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.