Zambia: Political Stability - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Zambia's political Stability - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) fell 0.00915 on 2024 (from -0.05 to -0.06).

Across the 22 yearly changes before that (2003 to 2024), the average change was +0.02 and a typical year strayed about 0.16 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations below 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 0.32 in 2006 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.33 in 2014. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2016 to 2025 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.03 a year. A straight line explains 46% 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 2025, Zambia had the 119th highest value of the 205 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 2025 ranking

• Lesotho — 116th of 205: -0.01
• Kyrgyz Republic — 117th of 205: -0.02
• Sri Lanka — 118th of 205: -0.04
• France — 120th of 205: -0.09
• Azerbaijan — 121st of 205: -0.09
• Moldova — 122nd of 205: -0.11

What this measures

Political Stability (PV) captures perceptions of the extent to which political power and governance are secure from destabilization, and of the likelihood that authority will be challenged or altered through violent, coercive, or unconstitutional means. Governance estimate from the aggregation model, in units of a standard normal distribution, i.e. ranging from approximately -2.5 to 2.5. Larger values correspond to better governance. The (country-series-time) metadata include the (a) number of sources, and (b) standard error. The number of sources indicates the number of underlying data sources on which the governance estimate is based. The standard error indicates the precision of the governance estimate. Larger values indicate less precise estimates. A 90% confidence interval for the governance estimate is given by the estimate +/- 1.64 times the standard error.

Limitations: The WGI are perception-based measures which draw on 35 distinct underlying data sources, namely expert assessments and household/firm surveys. Data sources based on expert assessments have both strengths and limitations relative to surveys. A key strength is that they are well suited to cross-country comparison, since their methodologies are explicitly designed for this purpose. Expert assessments can also provide more detailed technical judgments on specific public institutions or governance functions that typical household or firm survey respondents may not be well placed to assess.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a indicators, from the underlying data sources, are aggregated using the unobserved components model (ucm). the ucm is essentially a weighted average, resulting in a governance estimate at the country level. the following provides a detailed description of the aggregation methodology: https://www.worldbank.org/content/dam/sites/govindicators/doc/the%20worldwide%20governance%20indicators%202025%.

All 27 values

Political Stability - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) in nearby economies

• Angola — -0.44 (2025)
• Benin — -0.4 (2025)
• Botswana — 1.08 (2025)
• Burkina Faso — -1.8 (2025)
• Burundi — -1.23 (2025)
• Cabo Verde — 0.86 (2025)
• Cameroon — -1.69 (2025)
• Central African Republic — -1.69 (2025)
• Chad

More policy & institutions data for Zambia

• Control of Corruption - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) — -0.46 (2025)
• Control of Corruption - Governance score (0-100) — 38.86 (2025)
• Government Effectiveness - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) — -0.39 (2025)
• Government Effectiveness - Governance score (0-100) — 44.37 (2025)
• Political Stability - Governance score (0-100) — 64.56 (2025)
• Rule of Law - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) — -0.49 (2025)
• Rule of Law - Governance score (0-100) — 50.52 (2025)
• Regulatory Quality - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) — -0.45 (2025)
• Regulatory Quality - Governance score (0-100)

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 political Stability - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5)?

-0.06 in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1996?

It is up 63.13% from -0.16 in 1996. The highest value was 0.43 in 2012 and the lowest -0.4 in 2002.

How does Zambia rank?

119th highest of 205 economies with data for 2025.

Is the latest change in political Stability - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) unusual for Zambia?

In 2025, Zambia's political Stability - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) fell 0.00915 on 2024 (from -0.05 to -0.06). Across the 22 yearly changes before that (2003 to 2024), the average change was +0.02 and a typical year strayed about 0.16 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations below 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 GOV_WGI_PV_EST, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: The Worldwide Governance Indicators: Revised Methodology for Measuring Governance Using Perception Data., World Bank Group (WBG), uri: https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators, note: Detailed documentation of the WGI, interactive tools for exploring the data, and full… 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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