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African economies
Zambia · Economy

Zambia economy: GDP, investment, trade and remittances

How large the Zambia economy is and how fast it is growing, who invests in it, what it sells and buys, how much its citizens abroad send home, who it owes and what it holds in reserve. The latest published year is shown with each figure.

GDP
US$28.9 billion
current US$, 2025
Real GDP growth
3.8%
2025
GDP per person
US$1,318
current US$, 2025
Exports of goods
US$11.3 billion
2024
Remittances received
US$404 million
2025, 1.4% of GDP
Foreign direct investment, net inflows
US$1.3 billion
2025, 4.5% of GDP
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Zambia economy snapshot: GDP, growth and income per person

Zambia's GDP was US$28.9 billion in 2025, after real growth of 3.8%.

GDP

Current US dollars.

010bn20bn30bn201520172019202120232025GDP 2015: US$21.3 billionGDP 2016: US$21.0 billionGDP 2017: US$25.9 billionGDP 2018: US$26.3 billionGDP 2019: US$23.3 billionGDP 2020: US$18.1 billionGDP 2021: US$22.1 billionGDP 2022: US$29.2 billionGDP 2023: US$27.6 billionGDP 2024: US$25.3 billionGDP 2025: US$28.9 billion

Real GDP growth

Annual change, per cent. Red bars are contractions.

-5%-3%0%3%5%8%201520172019202120232025Real GDP growth 2015: 2.9%Real GDP growth 2016: 3.8%Real GDP growth 2017: 3.5%Real GDP growth 2018: 4.0%Real GDP growth 2019: 1.4%Real GDP growth 2020: -2.8%Real GDP growth 2021: 6.2%Real GDP growth 2022: 5.2%Real GDP growth 2023: 5.4%Real GDP growth 2024: 3.8%Real GDP growth 2025: 3.8%

GDP per person

Current US dollars.

05001k2k201520172019202120232025GDP per person 2015: US$1,296GDP per person 2016: US$1,239GDP per person 2017: US$1,483GDP per person 2018: US$1,464GDP per person 2019: US$1,259GDP per person 2020: US$952GDP per person 2021: US$1,127GDP per person 2022: US$1,447GDP per person 2023: US$1,331GDP per person 2024: US$1,187GDP per person 2025: US$1,318

Source: World Bank, 2025. Method

Who invests in Zambia and in what

Direct investment by investing country

Canada was the largest investing country in Zambia, at 30% of inward direct investment positions in 2024.

Inward direct investment positions in Zambia at the end of 2024: the stock of foreign direct investment, not a year's new flow. The 10 largest investing countries.

CanadaUS$4.3 billion29.9%
British Virgin IslandsUS$2.0 billion13.6%
ChinaUS$1.4 billion9.4%
United Arab EmiratesUS$957 million6.7%
IrelandUS$862 million6.0%
AustraliaUS$860 million6.0%
IndiaUS$817 million5.7%
South AfricaUS$795 million5.5%
United KingdomUS$522 million3.6%
SingaporeUS$409 million2.8%

Source: IMF, 2024. Method

What Zambia sells and buys

Copper was 67% of exports in 2024.

Zambia sold the most to Switzerland, 43% of exports in 2024.

Exports by product, 2024

Tile area follows value. Each tile is a customs chapter of the Harmonized System; hover for the full name.

Copper and articles thereof: US$7.6 billion, 67.3%Copper67%Ores, slag and ash: US$476 million, 4.2%Ores, slag an…4%Salt: US$326 million, 2.9%Salt, su…3%Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation: US$307 million, 2.7%Natural, cultured pearls: US$280 million, 2.5%Tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes: US$194 million, 1.7%Iron and steel: US$191 million, 1.7%Inorganic chemicals: US$172 million, 1.5%Beverages, spirits and vinegar: US$153 million, 1.4%Food industries, residues and wastes thereof: US$145 million, 1.3%Fertilizers: US$121 million, 1.1%Soap, organic surface-active agents: US$116 million, 1.0%All other chapters: US$1.2 billion, 10.7%All other chapters11%

Source: UN Comtrade, 2024. Method

Top buyers, 2024

Share of Zambia's exports.

SwitzerlandUS$4.8 billion42.5%
ChinaUS$2.3 billion20.8%
Democratic Republic of the CongoUS$1.2 billion10.7%
South AfricaUS$472 million4.2%
United Arab EmiratesUS$400 million3.5%
ZimbabweUS$377 million3.3%
CanadaUS$257 million2.3%
SingaporeUS$223 million2.0%
TanzaniaUS$193 million1.7%
NamibiaUS$141 million1.3%

Top suppliers, 2024

Share of Zambia's imports.

South AfricaUS$2.9 billion25.7%
ChinaUS$1.9 billion17.0%
United Arab EmiratesUS$610 million5.4%
IndiaUS$570 million5.1%
SingaporeUS$497 million4.4%
TanzaniaUS$491 million4.4%
JapanUS$480 million4.3%
Saudi ArabiaUS$324 million2.9%
Democratic Republic of the CongoUS$321 million2.8%
BahrainUS$317 million2.8%

Source: UN Comtrade, 2024. Method

What Zambia buys, 2024

The 8 largest product chapters in imports.

Mineral fuels and oilsUS$2.6 billion22.9%
Machinery and mechanical appliancesUS$1.8 billion15.8%
VehiclesUS$1.2 billion10.6%
FertilisersUS$661 million5.9%
PlasticsUS$504 million4.5%
Electrical machinery and equipmentUS$477 million4.2%
Chemical products n.e.c.US$312 million2.8%
Pharmaceutical productsUS$307 million2.7%

Source: UN Comtrade, 2024. Method

Trade balance of goods

Exports minus imports. Red bars are years when imports were larger. A year is left out when either side is not published.

-2.0bn02.0bn4.0bn6.0bn20152017201920212023Trade balance 2015: -US$1.4 billion (exports US$6.6 billion, imports US$7.9 billion)Trade balance 2016: -US$909 million (exports US$6.4 billion, imports US$7.3 billion)Trade balance 2017: US$26 million (exports US$8.0 billion, imports US$8.0 billion)Trade balance 2018: -US$472 million (exports US$9.0 billion, imports US$9.5 billion)Trade balance 2019: -US$134 million (exports US$7.0 billion, imports US$7.2 billion)Trade balance 2020: US$2.6 billion (exports US$7.9 billion, imports US$5.3 billion)Trade balance 2021: US$4.0 billion (exports US$11.0 billion, imports US$7.0 billion)Trade balance 2022: US$2.6 billion (exports US$11.6 billion, imports US$9.0 billion)Trade balance 2023: US$306 million (exports US$10.4 billion, imports US$10.1 billion)Trade balance 2024: US$7.8 million (exports US$11.3 billion, imports US$11.3 billion)

Source: UN Comtrade, 2024. Method

Remittances against foreign direct investment in Zambia

Foreign direct investment in Zambia was 3.2 times remittances in 2025.

Foreign direct investment net inflows were negative in 2022: more investment left Zambia than came in.

Remittances receivedForeign direct investment, net inflows
-1.0bn01.0bn2.0bn3.0bn201520172019202120232025Remittances 2015: US$47 millionRemittances 2016: US$38 millionRemittances 2017: US$94 millionRemittances 2018: US$107 millionRemittances 2019: US$98 millionRemittances 2020: US$135 millionRemittances 2021: US$240 millionRemittances 2022: US$243 millionRemittances 2023: US$246 millionRemittances 2024: US$334 millionRemittances 2025: US$404 millionForeign direct investment 2015: US$1.6 billionForeign direct investment 2016: US$663 millionForeign direct investment 2017: US$1.1 billionForeign direct investment 2018: US$408 millionForeign direct investment 2019: US$548 millionForeign direct investment 2020: US$245 millionForeign direct investment 2021: US$394 millionForeign direct investment 2022: -US$65 millionForeign direct investment 2023: US$641 millionForeign direct investment 2024: US$2.4 billionForeign direct investment 2025: US$1.3 billion

Source: World Bank, 2026. Method

Remittances and investment as a share of GDP

The same two flows measured against the size of the economy.

Remittances, share of GDPForeign direct investment, share of GDP
-3%0%3%5%8%10%201520172019202120232025Remittances 2015: 0.2%Remittances 2016: 0.2%Remittances 2017: 0.4%Remittances 2018: 0.4%Remittances 2019: 0.4%Remittances 2020: 0.7%Remittances 2021: 1.1%Remittances 2022: 0.8%Remittances 2023: 0.9%Remittances 2024: 1.3%Remittances 2025: 1.4%Foreign direct investment 2015: 7.4%Foreign direct investment 2016: 3.2%Foreign direct investment 2017: 4.3%Foreign direct investment 2018: 1.6%Foreign direct investment 2019: 2.4%Foreign direct investment 2020: 1.4%Foreign direct investment 2021: 1.8%Foreign direct investment 2022: -0.2%Foreign direct investment 2023: 2.3%Foreign direct investment 2024: 9.3%Foreign direct investment 2025: 4.5%

Source: World Bank, 2026. Method

Who Zambia owes

External debt stock by type of creditor. Creditor types cover public and publicly guaranteed debt; the grey part is the rest of the total external debt stock. A creditor type with no published figure is not shown.

Bilateral creditors held 17% of Zambia's external debt stock in 2024.

Public external debt owed to China was US$5.3 billion in 2024, 19% of the external debt stock.

MultilateralBilateralBondsCommercial banksRest of the totalPublic debt owed to China
010bn20bn30bn20152017201920212023Multilateral 2015: US$1.4 billionBilateral 2015: US$2.3 billionBonds 2015: US$3.0 billionCommercial banks 2015: US$342 millionRest of the total 2015: US$5.3 billionMultilateral 2016: US$1.5 billionBilateral 2016: US$2.7 billionBonds 2016: US$3.0 billionCommercial banks 2016: US$418 millionRest of the total 2016: US$8.2 billionMultilateral 2017: US$1.7 billionBilateral 2017: US$3.0 billionBonds 2017: US$3.0 billionCommercial banks 2017: US$1.8 billionRest of the total 2017: US$14.2 billionMultilateral 2018: US$1.9 billionBilateral 2018: US$3.4 billionBonds 2018: US$3.0 billionCommercial banks 2018: US$2.6 billionRest of the total 2018: US$13.7 billionMultilateral 2019: US$2.2 billionBilateral 2019: US$4.2 billionBonds 2019: US$3.0 billionCommercial banks 2019: US$3.6 billionRest of the total 2019: US$16.3 billionMultilateral 2020: US$3.1 billionBilateral 2020: US$4.8 billionBonds 2020: US$3.0 billionCommercial banks 2020: US$3.8 billionRest of the total 2020: US$14.8 billionMultilateral 2021: US$3.2 billionBilateral 2021: US$4.9 billionBonds 2021: US$3.0 billionCommercial banks 2021: US$3.8 billionRest of the total 2021: US$12.0 billionMultilateral 2022: US$3.9 billionBilateral 2022: US$4.9 billionBonds 2022: US$3.0 billionCommercial banks 2022: US$3.6 billionRest of the total 2022: US$13.1 billionMultilateral 2023: US$4.1 billionBilateral 2023: US$4.8 billionBonds 2023: US$3.0 billionCommercial banks 2023: US$3.1 billionRest of the total 2023: US$14.1 billionMultilateral 2024: US$4.5 billionBilateral 2024: US$4.8 billionBonds 2024: US$2.7 billionCommercial banks 2024: US$3.0 billionRest of the total 2024: US$13.0 billionPublic debt owed to China 2015: US$2.2 billionPublic debt owed to China 2016: US$2.6 billionPublic debt owed to China 2017: US$3.1 billionPublic debt owed to China 2018: US$3.5 billionPublic debt owed to China 2019: US$5.0 billionPublic debt owed to China 2020: US$5.6 billionPublic debt owed to China 2021: US$5.6 billionPublic debt owed to China 2022: US$5.5 billionPublic debt owed to China 2023: US$5.4 billionPublic debt owed to China 2024: US$5.3 billion

Source: World Bank, 2026. Method

Reserves and months of import cover

Total reserves including gold, and how many months of imports they cover.

Reserves, US$Months of imports
02.0bn4.0bn6.0bn0123420152017201920212023Reserves 2015: US$3.0 billionReserves 2016: US$2.4 billionReserves 2017: US$2.1 billionReserves 2018: US$1.6 billionReserves 2019: US$1.4 billionReserves 2020: US$1.2 billionReserves 2021: US$2.8 billionReserves 2022: US$3.0 billionReserves 2023: US$3.2 billionReserves 2024: US$4.1 billionMonths of imports 2015: 3.9 monthsMonths of imports 2016: 3.3 monthsMonths of imports 2017: 2.5 monthsMonths of imports 2018: 1.8 monthsMonths of imports 2019: 2.0 monthsMonths of imports 2020: 2.2 monthsMonths of imports 2021: 3.5 monthsMonths of imports 2022: 3.1 monthsMonths of imports 2023: 3.0 monthsMonths of imports 2024: 3.3 months

Source: World Bank, 2026. Method

Aid received by Zambia

Net official development assistance and official aid received.

0500m1.0bn1.5bn2.0bn20152017201920212023Aid received 2015: US$798 millionAid received 2016: US$966 millionAid received 2017: US$1.0 billionAid received 2018: US$1.0 billionAid received 2019: US$949 millionAid received 2020: US$1.0 billionAid received 2021: US$1.1 billionAid received 2022: US$1.8 billionAid received 2023: US$1.4 billion

Source: World Bank, 2026. Method

Where Zambia ranks in Africa

Its place among the 54 African countries on each of our Africa rankings. Each tile opens the full ranking with its source.

All Africa rankings

More on Zambia

World Bank data pages for Zambia: GDP, GDP growth, GDP per person, remittances, foreign direct investment, reserves, months of imports, external debt, debt by creditor, aid. UN Comtrade: trade data. IMF: direct investment positions.

Cite this

PollsAfrica (2026). Zambia economy: GDP, investment, trade and remittances. Retrieved 10 Oct 2026 from https://pollsafrica.com/economy/zambia