Zambia: Coal rents (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2021, Zambia's coal rents (% of GDP) rose 0.09 percentage points on 2020 (from 0.14% to 0.23%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2020), the average change was −0 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.03 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.8 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.3 percentage points in 1975 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.3 percentage points in 1987. 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 0.02 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 80% 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.

How it compares

In 2021, Zambia had the 24th highest value of the 187 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Zambia in the 2021 ranking

• Kyrgyz Republic — 20th of 187: 0.26%
• Poland — 21st of 187: 0.25%
• Serbia — 22nd of 187: 0.24%
• United States — 24th of 187: 0.17%
• Montenegro — 25th of 187: 0.14%
• Eswatini — 26th of 187: 0.14%

What this measures

Coal rents are the difference between the value of both hard and soft coal production at world prices and their total costs of production.

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

All 51 values

Coal rents (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Angola — 0% (2021)
• Benin — 0% (2021)
• Botswana — 0.5% (2021)
• Burkina Faso — 0% (2021)
• Burundi — 0% (2021)
• Cabo Verde — 17.18% (2021)
• Cameroon — 0% (2021)
• Central African Republic — 0% (2021)
• Chad — 0% (2021)
• Comoros — 0% (2021)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 0% (2021)
• Congo, Rep. — 0% (2021)

More environment data for Zambia

• Population in largest city — 3.47 million (2025)
• Population in the largest city (% of urban population) — 34.49% (2025)
• Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million — 3.47 million (2025)
• Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million (% of total population) — 15.84% (2025)
• Rural population — 11.85 million (2025)
• Rural population (% of total population) — 54.08% (2025)
• Urban population — 10.06 million (2025)
• Urban population (% of total population) — 45.92% (2025)
• Aquaculture production (metric tons) — 88,950 (2024)
• Capture fisheries production (metric tons)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Zambia's coal rents (% of GDP)?

0.23% in 2021, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1971?

It is up 0.06 percentage points from 0.17% in 1971. The highest value was 0.57% in 1982 and the lowest 0.000207% in 2009.

How does Zambia rank?

24th highest of 187 economies with data for 2021.

Is the latest change in coal rents (% of GDP) unusual for Zambia?

In 2021, Zambia's coal rents (% of GDP) rose 0.09 percentage points on 2020 (from 0.14% to 0.23%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2020), the average change was −0 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.03 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.8 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator NY.GDP.COAL.RT.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: The Changing Wealth of Nations, World Bank (WB), uri: https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/changing-wealth-of-nations/data, note: World Bank staff estimates based on sources and methods described in the World Bank's The Changing Wealth of Nations., publisher: World Bank (WB); Staff estimates, Wo… 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.

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