Zambia's unemployment, female (% of female labor force) (national estimate) was 6.23% in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 1.01 percentage points from 5.22% in 2019.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 6.23% | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | 5.22% | 2019 |
| Highest | 23% | 1991 |
| Lowest | 4.77% | 2017 |
| Average since 2015 | 7.18% | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | 17.8% | 1986 |
Over five years it is up 1.01 percentage points from 5.22% in 2019. Since 1986 it is down 11.57 percentage points from 17.8% in 1986. The World Bank has no value for 21 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.
What the numbers say
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 6.26 percentage points in 1991 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.84 percentage points in 2021. 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 29% of the movement over 9 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 15th highest value of the 22 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.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Zambia | 6.23% | 2024 |
| Lower middle income | 4.65% | 2024 |
Closest to Zambia in the 2024 ranking
What this measures
Unemployment refers to the share of the labor force that is without work but available for and seeking employment. Definitions of labor force and unemployment differ by country.
Limitations: The criteria for people considered to be seeking work, and the treatment of people temporarily laid off or seeking work for the first time, vary across countries. In many cases it is especially difficult to measure employment and unemployment in agriculture. The timing of a survey can maximize the effects of seasonal unemployment in agriculture. And informal sector employment is difficult to quantify where informal activities are not tracked.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 18 values
| Year | Unemployment, female (% of female labor force) (national estimate) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 6.23 |
| 2023 | 6.04 |
| 2022 | 6.29 |
| 2021 | 5.7 |
| 2020 | 6.54 |
| 2019 | 5.22 |
| 2018 | 5.09 |
| 2017 | 4.77 |
| 2016 | no data |
| 2015 | 18.77 |
| 2014 |
Unemployment, female (% of female labor force) (national estimate) in nearby economies
More social protection & labor data for Zambia
- Net migration — 6,562 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asylum — 83,225 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of origin — 346 (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, female (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 34.44% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, male (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 39.38% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, total (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 36.89% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15-64) (modeled ILO estimate) — 56.75% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) (modeled ILO estimate)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Zambia's unemployment, female (% of female labor force) (national estimate)?
- 6.23% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1986?
- It is down 11.57 percentage points from 17.8% in 1986. The highest value was 23% in 1991 and the lowest 4.77% in 2017.
- How does Zambia rank?
- 15th highest of 22 economies with data for 2024.
- Where does this data come from?
- The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO), uri: https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/bulk/, publisher: ILOSTAT, type: external database, date accessed: September 28, 2026.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SL.UEM.TOTL.FE.NE.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO), uri: https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/bulk/, publisher: ILOSTAT, type: external database, date accessed: September 28, 2026 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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