Zambia's vitamin A supplementation coverage rate (% of children ages 6-59 months) was 99% in 2023, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 6 percentage points from 93% in 2013.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 99% | 2023 |
| Five years earlier | 99% | 2018 |
| Ten years earlier | 93% | 2013 |
| Highest | 99% | 2017 |
| Lowest | 54% | 2000 |
| Average since 2016 | 98% | 2016–2023 |
| First recorded | 54% | 2000 |
What the numbers say
In 2023, Zambia's vitamin A supplementation coverage rate (% of children ages 6-59 months) rose 2 percentage points on 2022 (from 97% to 99%).
Across the 15 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2022), the average change was +0.4 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 10.99 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 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 24 percentage points in 2007 and the biggest yearly fall was 20 percentage points in 2011. 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 2023 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 11% of the movement over 8 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 2023, Zambia had the 1st highest value of the 43 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 | 99% | 2023 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 71.99% | 2023 |
| Lower middle income | 40.88% | 2020 |
Closest to Zambia in the 2023 ranking
- Bangladesh — 2nd of 43: 99%
- Burkina Faso — 3rd of 43: 99%
- Niger — 4th of 43: 99%
- Mali — 6th of 43: 97%
- Tanzania — 7th of 43: 96%
- Chad — 8th of 43: 95%
What this measures
Vitamin A supplementation coverage rate refers to the percentage of children ages 6-59 months old receiving two high-dose vitamin A supplements in a calendar year.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 20 values
| Year | Vitamin A supplementation coverage rate (% of children ages 6-59 months) |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 99 |
| 2022 | 97 |
| 2021 | 95 |
| 2020 | 98 |
| 2019 | 99 |
| 2018 | 99 |
| 2017 | 99 |
| 2016 | 98 |
| 2015 | no data |
| 2014 | no data |
| 2013 |
Vitamin A supplementation coverage rate (% of children ages 6-59 months) in nearby economies
- Angola — 7% (2020)
- Benin — 7% (2023)
- Botswana — 0% (2022)
- Burkina Faso — 99% (2023)
- Burundi — 77% (2023)
- Cameroon — 94% (2023)
- Central African Republic — 76% (2023)
- Chad — 95% (2023)
- Comoros
More health data for Zambia
- Population ages 00-04, female (% of female population) — 14.71% (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male (% of male population) — 15.03% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female — 4.49 million (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) — 40.57% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male — 4.49 million (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) — 41.38% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, total — 8.98 million (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) — 40.97% (2025)
- Population ages 05-09, female (% of female population) — 13.41% (2025)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Zambia's vitamin A supplementation coverage rate (% of children ages 6-59 months)?
- 99% in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 2000?
- It is up 45 percentage points from 54% in 2000. The highest value was 99% in 2017 and the lowest 54% in 2000.
- How does Zambia rank?
- 1st highest of 43 economies with data for 2023.
- Is the latest change in vitamin A supplementation coverage rate (% of children ages 6-59 months) unusual for Zambia?
- In 2023, Zambia's vitamin A supplementation coverage rate (% of children ages 6-59 months) rose 2 percentage points on 2022 (from 97% to 99%). Across the 15 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2022), the average change was +0.4 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 10.99 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 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 SN.ITK.VITA.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: UNICEF Global Databases, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), uri: https://data.unicef.org/topic/nutrition/vitamin-a-deficiency/, note: based on administrative reports from countries 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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