Demographics of Zambia

Demographic features of the population of Zambia include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and others aspects of the population.

"Zambian" redirects here. For related topics, see Zambia (disambiguation).

Demographics of Zambia
Population pyramid of Zambia in 2020
Population	19,642,123 (2022 est.)
Growth rate	2.9% (2022 est.)
Birth rate	34.86 births/1,000 population
Death rate	6.12 deaths/1,000 population
Life expectancy	66.26 years
• male	64.52 years
• female	68.06 years
Fertility rate	4.56 children
Infant mortality rate	37.11 deaths/1,000 live births
Net migration rate	0.24 migrant(s)/1,000 population
Sex ratio
Total	1 male(s)/female (2022 est.)
At birth	1.03 male(s)/female
Nationality
Nationality	Zambian

Zambia's youthful population consists primarily of Bantu-speaking people representing nearly 70 different ethnicities. Zambia's high fertility rate continues to drive rapid population growth, averaging almost 3 percent annually between 2000 and 2010. The country's total fertility rate has fallen by less than 1.5 children per woman during the last 30 years and still averages among the world's highest, almost 6 children per woman, largely because of the country's lack of access to family planning services, education for girls, and employment for women. Zambia also exhibits wide fertility disparities based on rural or urban location, education, and income. Poor, uneducated women from rural areas are more likely to marry young, to give birth early, and to have more children, viewing children as a sign of prestige and recognizing that not all of their children will live to adulthood.

Population

Census population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1969	4,056,955	—
1980	5,661,801	+3.08%
1990	7,383,097	+2.69%
2000	9,855,591	+2.93%
2010	13,092,666	+2.88%
2022	19,693,423	+3.46%
Source:[1]

Zambia's population (1890–2021).

According to the 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects^[2][3] the total population of Zambia is 19,473,125 in 2021, compared to only 2,340,000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2010 was 46.4%, 50.6% was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 3.1% was 65 years or older.^[4]

	Total population[5]	Population aged 0–14 (%)	Population aged 15–64 (%)	Population aged 65+ (%)
1950	2 340 000	44.9	52.3	2.7
1955	2 653 000	44.7	52.7	2.6
1960	3 045 000	44.9	52.6	2.5
1965	3 537 000	45.2	52.2	2.6
1970	4 139 000	46.4	50.9	2.7
1975	4 900 000	47.0	50.3	2.7
1980	5 775 000	47.3	49.9	2.8
1985	6 785 000	46.6	50.6	2.8
1990	7 860 000	45.8	51.4	2.8
1995	8 919 000	45.3	51.8	2.9
2000	10 202 000	45.3	51.8	2.9
2005	11 462 000	45.9	51.0	3.0
2010	13 089 000	46.4	50.6	3.1
2018	17,351,708

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2020) (Data based on the 2010 Population Census.):^[6]

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	8 852 174	9 033 248	17 885 422	100
0–4	1 579 231	1 554 009	3 133 240	17.52
5–9	1 357 442	1 343 776	2 701 218	15.10
10–14	1 160 256	1 154 409	2 314 665	12.94
15–19	958 687	954 923	1 913 610	10.70
20–24	833 604	851 421	1 685 025	9.42
25–29	693 050	727 248	1 420 298	7.94
30–34	496 336	579 946	1 076 282	6.02
35–39	433 030	493 825	926 855	5.18
40–44	361 566	362 160	723 726	4.05
45–49	298 359	283 452	581 811	3.25
50–54	205 799	193 301	399 100	2.23
55–59	153 109	160 905	314 014	1.76
60–64	109 330	123 190	232 520	1.30
65-69	72 624	79 062	151 686	0.85
70-74	54 288	68 013	122 301	0.68
75-79	35 056	44 637	79 693	0.45
80+	50 407	58 971	109 378	0.61
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	4 096 929	4 052 194	8 149 123	45.56
15–64	4 542 870	4 730 371	9 273 241	51.85
65+	212 375	250 683	463 058	2.59

Vital statistics

Population, fertility rate and net reproduction rate, United Nations estimates

Registration of vital events is in Zambia not complete. The website Our World in Data prepared the following estimates based on statistics from the Population Department of the United Nations.^[7]

	Mid-year population (thousands)	Live births (thousands)	Deaths (thousands)	Natural change (thousands)	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death rate (per 1000)	Natural change (per 1000)	Total fertility rate (TFR)	Infant mortality (per 1000 live births)	Life expectancy (in years)
1950	2 318	113	46	67	48.6	19.7	28.8	6.62	135.9	45.12
1951	2 385	116	47	69	48.6	19.7	28.9	6.64	134.9	45.28
1952	2 454	119	48	72	48.7	19.4	29.2	6.68	132.9	45.68
1953	2 525	123	48	75	48.8	19.1	29.7	6.72	130.8	46.14
1954	2 600	127	49	78	48.9	18.9	30.1	6.76	128.9	46.53
1955	2 677	132	50	82	49.1	18.6	30.5	6.82	126.9	46.95
1956	2 758	136	51	85	49.3	18.4	30.9	6.87	124.8	47.37
1957	2 843	141	52	89	49.4	18.1	31.3	6.93	122.8	47.75
1958	2 931	146	52	93	49.6	17.8	31.8	6.99	120.8	48.23
1959	3 023	151	53	98	49.8	17.5	32.3	7.06	118.8	48.65
1960	3 119	156	54	102	49.9	17.3	32.6	7.12	116.9	49.04
1961	3 219	161	55	106	50.0	17.0	33.0	7.17	115.1	49.45
1962	3 323	167	56	111	50.1	16.8	33.3	7.21	113.6	49.79
1963	3 431	172	57	115	50.0	16.6	33.5	7.25	112.1	50.13
1964	3 543	177	59	118	50.0	16.7	33.3	7.27	111.7	49.85
1965	3 658	183	59	123	49.9	16.2	33.6	7.29	110.2	50.56
1966	3 778	188	61	127	49.7	16.1	33.6	7.30	109.7	50.68
1967	3 901	194	63	131	49.7	16.0	33.6	7.32	109.4	50.80
1968	4 029	200	64	136	49.7	16.0	33.7	7.33	108.8	50.86
1969	4 159	207	66	141	49.7	15.8	33.9	7.35	107.7	51.15
1970	4 282	214	67	147	49.8	15.5	34.2	7.37	106.0	51.49
1971	4 400	219	67	152	49.7	15.2	34.5	7.38	103.6	52.02
1972	4 524	225	67	158	49.6	14.8	34.9	7.39	100.8	52.63
1973	4 653	231	67	164	49.5	14.3	35.2	7.39	97.9	53.30
1974	4 789	237	67	170	49.3	13.9	35.3	7.38	95.5	53.87
1975	4 931	244	68	177	49.3	13.7	35.7	7.39	93.7	54.24
1976	5 080	250	69	182	49.1	13.4	35.7	7.37	92.8	54.60
1977	5 233	257	70	187	48.9	13.4	35.5	7.33	92.7	54.71
1978	5 391	263	72	190	48.6	13.4	35.2	7.29	93.0	54.61
1979	5 553	269	75	194	48.2	13.4	34.8	7.23	93.3	54.44
1980	5 720	273	78	196	47.6	13.5	34.1	7.15	93.8	54.14
1981	5 897	282	80	202	47.7	13.5	34.1	7.10	94.1	54.05
1982	6 091	291	83	208	47.8	13.6	34.2	7.06	94.6	53.86
1983	6 291	301	87	214	47.8	13.8	33.9	7.02	95.5	53.39
1984	6 488	310	92	218	47.7	14.2	33.6	6.98	97.0	52.76
1985	6 686	321	98	223	47.8	14.6	33.2	6.92	99.0	51.90
1986	6 891	330	104	226	47.8	15.1	32.8	6.85	101.0	51.06
1987	7 095	338	110	229	47.6	15.4	32.2	6.77	102.9	50.33
1988	7 294	347	116	231	47.4	15.8	31.6	6.68	104.4	49.53
1989	7 491	356	122	234	47.4	16.2	31.2	6.61	105.4	48.70
1990	7 686	363	128	235	47.1	16.6	30.5	6.53	106.1	47.93
1991	7 880	372	134	238	47.1	17.0	30.1	6.45	106.6	47.10
1992	8 074	381	140	241	47.0	17.2	29.8	6.36	106.4	46.51
1993	8 271	391	144	247	47.1	17.3	29.8	6.32	105.5	46.21
1994	8 474	401	148	253	47.1	17.4	29.8	6.27	104.0	45.85
1995	8 684	410	152	258	47.0	17.4	29.6	6.24	102.4	45.55
1996	8 902	418	156	262	46.8	17.5	29.3	6.18	100.9	45.23
1997	9 133	425	160	265	46.5	17.5	29.0	6.12	99.5	44.95
1998	9 372	435	164	271	46.3	17.5	28.8	6.05	98.1	44.70
1999	9 621	445	168	277	46.2	17.4	28.8	5.99	96.4	44.66
2000	9 891	454	167	287	45.9	16.9	29.0	5.93	93.5	45.23
2001	10 192	460	164	296	45.2	16.1	29.1	5.86	89.0	46.02
2002	10 508	470	161	310	44.7	15.3	29.5	5.79	83.5	46.98
2003	10 838	481	155	326	44.4	14.3	30.1	5.73	78.1	48.28
2004	11 188	496	150	346	44.3	13.5	30.9	5.72	72.7	49.49
2005	11 565	511	146	365	44.2	12.7	31.6	5.71	67.8	50.66
2006	11 972	526	143	384	44.0	11.9	32.1	5.69	63.7	51.80
2007	12 402	538	141	398	43.5	11.4	32.1	5.61	60.8	52.74
2008	12 853	552	137	415	43.0	10.7	32.3	5.54	58.3	53.95
2009	13 318	564	132	431	42.4	10.0	32.4	5.45	55.5	55.30
2010	13 792	576	127	449	41.8	9.2	32.6	5.36	52.9	56.80
2011	14 266	587	125	462	41.2	8.8	32.4	5.27	51.6	57.77
2012	14 745	595	122	473	40.4	8.3	32.1	5.15	50.4	58.87
2013	15 235	602	119	483	39.5	7.8	31.7	5.03	48.3	59.88
2014	15 738	607	117	490	38.6	7.4	31.2	4.90	46.7	60.70
2015	16 248	614	117	498	37.8	7.2	30.6	4.79	46.3	61.21
2016	16 768	624	116	508	37.2	6.9	30.3	4.71	44.9	61.79
2017	17 298	633	118	515	36.6	6.8	29.8	4.61	44.5	62.12
2018	17 836	643	120	522	36.0	6.7	29.3	4.54	45.0	62.34
2019	18 380	652	121	531	35.5	6.6	28.9	4.45	44.2	62.79
2020	19 059	656	119	536	34.4	6.3	28.1	4.32	41.4	63.4
2021	19 604	665	130	536	33.9	6.6	27.3	4.25	40.3	62.4
2022	20 153	676	113	536	33.5	5.6	28.0	4.18	39.3	65.3
2023	20 724	686	108	578	33.1	5.2	27.9	4.10	38.2	66.3

Demographic and Health Surveys

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted TFR) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR) :^{[8] [9]}

Year	Total			Urban			Rural
	CBR	TFR	WFR	CBR	TFR	WFR	CBR	TFR	WFR
1992	45	6.5	5.4	44	5.8	4.7	46	7.1	6.2
1996	45.2	6.08	5.2	43.7	5.08	4.1	46.1	6.86	6.1
2001–2002	43.3	5.9	4.9	36.7	4.3	3.4	47.0	6.9	5.8
2007	43.6	6.2	5.2	36.3	4.3	3.6	47.5	7.5	6.3
2013–2014	37.2	5.3	4.5	32.2	3.7	3.3	40.3	6.6	5.6
2018	35.3	4.7	4.0	30.9	3.4	2.9	38.4	5.8	5.0
2024	32.1	4.0		28.4	3.2		35.3	4.9

Fertility data as of 2013–2014 (DHS Program):^[10]

Province	Total fertility rate	Percentage of women age 15-49 currently pregnant	Mean number of children ever born to women age 40-49
Central	5.9	8.1	6.8
Copperbelt	4.0	7.6	5.5
Eastern	5.8	8.7	6.9
Luapula	6.4	11.4	6.6
Lusaka	3.7	7.7	5.1
Muchinga	6.3	10.3	7.2
Northern	6.6	10.4	7.6
North Western	6.2	9.2	6.7
Southern	6.2	9.2	6.9
Western	5.6	8.1	6.0

Fertility rate by religion

At national level, the TFR was highest among women with no religious affiliation at 6.5. Among the women with religious affiliation Protestants had the highest TFR of 6.0, followed by Muslims with 5.9 and Catholics with 5.7.^{[11][12][citation needed]}

Religious Affiliation [13]	Total fertility rate
Protestantism	6.0
Catholicism	5.7
Islam	3.2
Hinduism	2.0
Other religions	5.8
Not religious	6.5
Zambia (total)	5.9

Life expectancy

Period	Life expectancy in Years[14]
1950–1955	42.07
1955–1960	44.13
1960–1965	46.08
1965–1970	47.83
1970–1975	50.16
1975–1980	51.47
1980–1985	50.31
1985–1990	46.74
1990–1995	43.79
1995–2000	43.53
2000–2005	46.86
2005–2010	52.93
2010–2015	59.73

Ethnic groups

Zambia is one of the most highly urbanised countries in sub-Saharan Africa with 44% of the population concentrated in a few urban areas along the major transport corridors, while rural areas are sparsely populated. Zambia's population comprises more than 72 Bantu-speaking ethnic groups. Some ethnic groups are small, and only two have enough people to constitute at least 10% of the population. The majority of Zambians are subsistence farmers, but the country is also fairly urbanised, with 42% of the population being city residents. The predominant religion is a blend of traditional beliefs and Christianity.^[15]

Immigrants, mostly British or South African, as well as some white Zambian citizens (about 40,000), live mainly in Lusaka and in the Copperbelt in northern Zambia, where they are either employed in mines, financial and related activities or retired. Zambia also has a small but economically important Asian population, most of whom are Indians or Chinese.^{[16][citation needed]}

2010 census

Groups	Percentage
African	99.2%
Bemba	21%
Tonga	13.6%
Chewa	7.4%
Lozi	5.7%
Nsenga	5.3%
Tumbuka	4.4%
Ngoni	4%
Lala	3.1%
Kaonde	2.9%
Namwanga	2.8%
Lunda (North-western)	2.6%
Mambwe	2.5%
Luvale	2.2%
Lamba	2.1%
Ushi	1.9%
Lenje	1.6%
Bisa	1.6%
Mbunda	1.2%
Other	13.8%
Unspecified	0.4%

Source:^[17]

Languages

Further information: Languages of Zambia

Bemba 33.4%, Nyanja 14.7%, Tonga 11.4%, Lozi 5.5%, Chewa 4.5%, Nsenga 2.9%, Tumbuka 2.5%, Lunda (North Western) 1.9%, Kaonde 1.8%, Lala 1.8%, Lamba 1.8%, English (official) 1.7%, Luvale 1.5%, Mambwe 1.3%, Namwanga 1.2%, Lenje 1.1%, Bisa 1%, other 9.7%, unspecified 0.2% (2010 est.)

note: Zambia is said to have over 70 languages, although many of these may be considered dialects; all of Zambia's major languages are members of the Bantu family^[18]

Religion

Protestant 75.3%

Roman Catholic 20.2%

other 2.7% (includes Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, and Baha'i)

none 1.8%

(2010 est.)

See also

• Cultures of Zambia
• Angolans in Zambia
• Chinese people in Zambia
• Indians in Zambia
• Zimbabweans in Zambia
• Bibliography of the history of Zambia