Zambia: Central government debt, total (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2021, Zambia's central government debt, total (% of GDP) fell 32.13 percentage points on 2020 (from 103.54% to 71.41%).

Across the 18 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2020), the average change was +0.17 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 32.13 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 41.61 percentage points in 2020 and the biggest yearly fall was 112.83 percentage points in 1992. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2012 to 2021 the straight-line trend is upward, about 6.73 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 77% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

Closest to Zambia in the 2021 ranking

• Nepal — 2nd of 4: 39.92%
• Eswatini — 3rd of 4: 35.72%
• Peru — 4th of 4: 35.24%

What this measures

Debt is the entire stock of direct government fixed-term contractual obligations to others outstanding on a particular date. It includes domestic and foreign liabilities such as currency and money deposits, securities other than shares, and loans. It is the gross amount of government liabilities reduced by the amount of equity and financial derivatives held by the government. Because debt is a stock rather than a flow, it is measured as of a given date, usually the last day of the fiscal year. Central government is the part of general government that includes all administrative departments of the national executive, legislative, and judicial functions, other central agencies and those non-market producers controlled by the central government, whose competence extends normally over the whole economic territory. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.

Limitations: For most countries central government finance data have been consolidated into one account, but for others only budgetary central government accounts are available. Countries reporting budgetary data are noted in the country metadata. Because budgetary accounts may not include all central government units (such as social security funds), they usually provide an incomplete picture. In federal states the central government accounts provide an incomplete view of total public finance. Data on government revenue and expense are collected by the IMF through questionnaires to member countries and by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 21 values

Central government debt, total (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Botswana — 19.75% (2023)
• Eswatini — 35.72% (2021)
• Ethiopia — 31.45% (2019)
• Lesotho — 2.99% (2020)
• Malawi — 61.81% (2023)
• Mauritius — 57.13% (2019)
• South Africa — 82.76% (2024)

More public sector data for Zambia

• Military expenditure (current USD) — 405.86 million (2025)
• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 10.24 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 1.26% (2025)
• Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 1 million (2024)
• Grants and other revenue (current LCU) — 42.28 billion (2024)
• Grants and other revenue (% of revenue) — 25.32% (2024)
• Revenue, excluding grants (current LCU) — 154.97 billion (2024)
• Revenue, excluding grants (% of GDP) — 23.41% (2024)
• Taxes on international trade (current LCU) — 8.86 billion (2024)
• Taxes on international trade (% of revenue)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Zambia's central government debt, total (% of GDP)?

71.41% in 2021, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1990?

It is down 172.97 percentage points from 244.38% in 1990. The highest value was 277.53% in 1991 and the lowest 17.32% in 2010.

Is the latest change in central government debt, total (% of GDP) unusual for Zambia?

In 2021, Zambia's central government debt, total (% of GDP) fell 32.13 percentage points on 2020 (from 103.54% to 71.41%). Across the 18 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2020), the average change was +0.17 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 32.13 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator GC.DOD.TOTL.GD.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.