Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters in Zambia

Zambia: Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters was 1.47 million people in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
1.47 million people
Change on year
down 82.4%
World rank
28th
of 78 countries
All-time high
8.33 million people
in 2024
All-time low
0 people
in 1982
Years of data
11
1982–2025

Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters in Zambia, 1982–2025

02.0M4.0M6.0M8.0M1982200320251982: 0 people1991: 848.8k people1992: 851.2k people1995: 1.3M people2005: 1.2M people2019: 714.0k people2020: 716.0k people2021: 636.1k people2022: 943.9k people2024: 8.3M people2025: 1.5M people

Source: EM-DAT, CRED / UCLouvain (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.

Analysis

In 2025, annual number of people affected by all natural disasters in Zambia stood at 1.47 million people.

The figure is down 82.4% on the previous year and up 105.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, annual number of people affected by all natural disasters in Zambia peaked at 8.33 million people in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0 people, in 1982.

That places Zambia 28th out of 78 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 0 people 0 people 0 people 1
1990s 991,067 people 848,837 people 1.27 million people 3
2000s 1.20 million people 1.20 million people 1.20 million people 1
2010s 714,021 people 714,021 people 714,021 people 1
2020s 2.42 million people 636,148 people 8.33 million people 5

Countries ranked near Zambia

  1. 25 Iraq 1.75 million people compare
  2. 26 Mali 1.74 million people compare
  3. 27 Eritrea 1.70 million people compare
  4. 29 Madagascar 1.20 million people compare
  5. 29 Nepal 1.20 million people compare
  6. 31 Kenya 1.07 million people compare

See the full ranking of 78 places →

More reference data data for Zambia

All data for Zambia →

Frequently asked questions

What is annual number of people affected by all natural disasters in Zambia?
Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters in Zambia was 1.47 million people in 2025, according to EM-DAT, CRED / UCLouvain (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest annual number of people affected by all natural disasters recorded in Zambia?
The highest recorded value was 8.33 million people in 2024.
What is the lowest annual number of people affected by all natural disasters recorded in Zambia?
The lowest recorded value was 0 people in 1982.
How does Zambia rank for annual number of people affected by all natural disasters?
Zambia ranks 28th out of 78 countries with data for 2025.
Is annual number of people affected by all natural disasters rising or falling in Zambia?
Over the last ten years it is up 105.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Zambia data come from?
The figures come from EM-DAT, CRED / UCLouvain (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 11 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters
Unit
people
Source
EM-DAT, CRED / UCLouvain (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
78 places, 1,202 data points, 1900–2025
Last refreshed

Total number of people affected by a natural disaster.