Zambia Population
Zambia had an estimated population of 21,913,874 in mid-2025 (World Bank), making it the 61st most populous of 217 countries and territories, with 0.27% of everyone alive. The counter above projects that figure forward at the current growth rate of +2.77% a year.
Zambia at a glance
How Zambia's population is changing
Zambia's population is growing fast: +2.77% a year, which works out to about +607,255 people per year, or +1,663 a day. Births (32.7 per 1,000) and deaths (5.2 per 1,000) alone would give +2.76% a year; net migration adds about 6,562 people a year (+0.03%). Roughly one in every 375 people on Earth lives in Zambia.
Population of Zambia since 1960
In 1960, Zambia had 3,153,729 people. By 2025 that was 21,913,874 — 6.9× larger. The fastest growth came between 2003 and 2013, when the population rose by 40%.
| Year | Population | Change vs previous row |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 3,153,729 | — |
| 1970 | 4,321,718 | +37.0% |
| 1980 | 5,802,833 | +34.3% |
| 1990 | 7,786,169 | +34.2% |
| 2000 | 10,017,631 | +28.7% |
| 2010 | 13,965,594 | +39.4% |
| 2020 | 19,059,395 | +36.5% |
| 2025 | 21,913,874 | +15.0% |
Zambia from 1800 to 2100
Modelled estimates put Zambia at about 747,000 people in 1800; the UN estimates 21,913,878 in 2025 (29× 1800) and projects 64,473,919 for 2100 in its medium scenario. That is still 194% growth over the rest of this century.
| Year | Population | Kind |
|---|---|---|
| 1800 | 747,000 | modelled estimate |
| 1850 | 1,579,865 | modelled estimate |
| 1900 | 1,612,918 | modelled estimate |
| 1950 | 2,321,310 | UN estimate |
| 2000 | 10,017,633 | UN estimate |
| 2025 | 21,913,878 | UN projection |
| 2050 | 38,083,384 | UN projection |
| 2075 | 53,329,330 | UN projection |
| 2100 | 64,473,919 | UN projection |
Country live/base figures use World Bank estimates; this historical/future chart uses a separate UN series and need not match the World Bank base in overlapping years. Before 1950: HYDE 3.3 / Gapminder reconstructions via Our World in Data — historical modelling, not censuses. 1950–2023: UN World Population Prospects 2024. 2024–2100: UN medium projection. Open the time machine to see the whole map in any year.
Largest listed places in Zambia
10 records sorted by displayed base population. Definitions vary (province/administrative unit, UN urban centre or GeoNames settlement); this is not a harmonised city ranking. Shares use World Bank 2025 country population 21,913,874. Dates and boundaries may differ. Overlapping entities are not summed.
| # | Place | Population | Definition | Share | Source / reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lusaka | 3,510,723 | UN urban centre | 16.02% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 2 | Kitwe | 678,749 | UN urban centre | 3.10% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 3 | Ndola | 535,108 | UN urban centre | 2.44% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 4 | Mansa | 335,503 | UN urban centre | 1.53% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 5 | Chingola | 294,193 | UN urban centre | 1.34% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 6 | Kabwe | 267,618 | UN urban centre | 1.22% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 7 | Kasama | 233,587 | UN urban centre | 1.07% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 8 | Livingstone | 203,972 | UN urban centre | 0.93% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 9 | Chipata | 197,310 | UN urban centre | 0.90% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 10 | Mufulira | 173,181 | UN urban centre | 0.79% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
How Zambia compares
Zambia has almost the same population as Sri Lanka (21,756,000).
| Rank | Country | Population | vs Zambia | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #59 |  Burkina Faso | 24,074,580 | +10% | compare → |
| #60 |  Malawi | 22,216,120 | +1% | compare → |
| #62 |  Sri Lanka | 21,756,000 | −1% | compare → |
| #63 |  Chad | 21,003,705 | −4% | compare → |
Compare Zambia with any country →
Same region (Sub-Saharan Africa): Nigeria, Ethiopia, DR Congo, Tanzania, South Africa, Kenya.
Explore around Zambia
Land neighbours (8)
DR Congo 112,832,473 · 5.1× the population · compare
Tanzania 70,545,865 · 3.2× the population · compare
Angola 39,040,039 · 1.8× the population · compare
Mozambique 35,631,653 · 1.6× the population · compare- Malawi 22,216,120 · about the same population · compare
Zimbabwe 16,950,795 · 1.3× smaller · compare
Namibia 3,092,816 · 7.1× smaller · compare
Botswana 2,562,122 · 8.6× smaller · compare
Zambia's 8 neighbours together hold 302,871,883 people — 13.8× Zambia's population. The most populous is DR Congo (112,832,473).
In its region
Zambia is the 19th most populous of the 48 economies in Sub-Saharan Africa, holding 1.7% of the region's 1,321,654,217 people.
Rankings featuring Zambia
- Fastest-growing countries #19
- Highest birth rates #19
- Highest fertility rates #25
- Youngest populations (share aged 0–14) #18
Cities
Lusaka, Kitwe, Ndola, Mansa, Chingola, Kabwe, Kasama, Livingstone — all Zambia's cities on the map.
World population history · The world when you were born · Zambia when you were born · Time machine · Embed this live counter on your site
About these numbers
Population, growth, birth and death rates, migration, density, age structure, life expectancy, fertility and GDP per capita come from the World Bank Indicators API (latest available year shown beside each figure). The live counter applies the annual growth rate continuously from 1 July 2025 — a model, not a measurement. City populations are the latest census or official estimate held by GeoNames and are not projected. Sub-city units are folded into their parent city.
What changed during your lifetime?
Turn these figures into a private, five-scene personal world story.
Read this country carefully
This page is a structured reference entry. Its sources, geographic definition and reference dates determine what the figures mean; it is not independent reporting about the causes of change. Read the accompanying explanation before comparing different places or vintages.