Zambia: Revenue, excluding grants (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Zambia's revenue, excluding grants (% of GDP) rose 2.7 percentage points on 2023 (from 20.71% to 23.41%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1992 to 2023), the average change was +0.06 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.29 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.0 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 3.11 percentage points in 2011 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.96 percentage points in 1993. 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 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.55 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 74% 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.

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about 23.79% for 2027. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2022 to 2024 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 0.88%, against 1.39% for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

How it compares

In 2024, Zambia had the 62nd highest value of the 90 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

• Mauritius — 58th of 90: 24.71%
• Mozambique — 59th of 90: 24.52%
• Armenia — 60th of 90: 24.14%
• Chile — 62nd of 90: 21.86%
• Nicaragua — 63rd of 90: 21.52%
• Burkina Faso — 64th of 90: 21.23%

What this measures

Revenue is an increase in net worth resulting from a transaction. Grants are excluded from this figure. 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 34 values

Revenue, excluding grants (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Angola — 18.23% (2024)
• Botswana — 28.09% (2023)
• Burkina Faso — 21.23% (2024)
• Burundi — 14.22% (2021)
• Cabo Verde — 21.57% (2020)
• Cameroon — 13.74% (2021)
• Central African Republic — 9.2% (2021)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 13.24% (2022)
• Congo, Rep. — 20.05% (2021)
• Côte d'Ivoire — 13.37% (2023)
• Equatorial Guinea

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)
• Taxes on international trade (current LCU) — 8.86 billion (2024)
• Taxes on international trade (% of revenue) — 5.31% (2024)
• Tax revenue (current LCU)

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 revenue, excluding grants (% of GDP)?

23.41% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1990?

It is up 3 percentage points from 20.41% in 1990. The highest value was 23.41% in 2024 and the lowest 13.21% in 2009.

How does Zambia rank?

62nd highest of 90 economies with data for 2024.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator GC.REV.XGRT.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.

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