Zambia: Fuel imports (% of merchandise imports)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Zambia's fuel imports (% of merchandise imports) rose 3.59 percentage points on 2023 (from 19.34% to 22.93%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1978 to 2023), the average change was +0.29 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 4.81 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.7 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 13.02 percentage points in 2023 and the biggest yearly fall was 9.88 percentage points in 2001. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 8% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

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

How it compares

In 2024, Zambia had the 8th highest value of the 36 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 2024 ranking

• Senegal — 4th of 36: 31.53%
• Central African Republic — 5th of 36: 26.48%
• Lebanon — 6th of 36: 25.75%
• Zimbabwe — 8th of 36: 21.13%
• Seychelles — 9th of 36: 20.45%
• Samoa — 10th of 36: 19.43%

What this measures

Fuels comprise the commodities in SITC (Rev. 3) section 3 (mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials). This indicator is expressed as a percentage of merchandise imports which is comprised of goods whose economic ownership is changed between a non-resident and a resident and that are not included in the following specific categories: goods under merchanting, non-monetary gold, and parts of travel, construction, and government goods and services n.i.e.

Limitations: Previous editions contained data based on the SITC revision 1. Data for earlier years in previous editions may differ because of the change in methodology. Concordance tables are available to convert data reported in one system to another.

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

All 42 values

Fuel imports (% of merchandise imports) in nearby economies

• Angola — 16.4% (2025)
• Benin — 13.65% (2024)
• Botswana — 20.49% (2023)
• Burkina Faso — 41.15% (2024)
• Burundi — 22.15% (2023)
• Cabo Verde — 14.36% (2024)
• Cameroon — 24.18% (2023)
• Central African Republic — 26.48% (2024)
• Comoros — 10.23% (2023)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 19.04% (2024)

More private sector & trade data for Zambia

• Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 91.71% (2025)
• Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$13.17 billion (2025)
• Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$13.31 billion (2025)
• Merchandise imports from economies in the Arab World (% of total merchandise imports) — 16.21% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) — 37.56% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise imports) — 24.96% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East Asia & Pacific (% of total merchandise imports) — 18.06% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in Middle East & North Africa (% of total merchandise imports)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
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• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Zambia's fuel imports (% of merchandise imports)?

22.93% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1966?

It is up 14.96 percentage points from 7.97% in 1966. The highest value was 23.15% in 2016 and the lowest 5.84% in 2002.

How does Zambia rank?

8th highest of 36 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in fuel imports (% of merchandise imports) unusual for Zambia?

In 2024, Zambia's fuel imports (% of merchandise imports) rose 3.59 percentage points on 2023 (from 19.34% to 22.93%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1978 to 2023), the average change was +0.29 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 4.81 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.7 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator TM.VAL.FUEL.ZS.UN, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Comtrade database, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Statistics Division; World Integrated Trade Solution system (WITS); Staff estimates, World Bank (WB) 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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