Political centralization index in Zambia
Zambia: Political centralization index was 0.242 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
0.242
Change on year
up 3.9%
World rank
104th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.71
in 1911
All-time low
0.133
in 2022
Years of data
115
1911–2025
Political centralization index in Zambia, 1911–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, political centralization index in Zambia stood at 0.242.
That represents a change of up 3.9% on the previous year and up 11.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, political centralization index in Zambia peaked at 0.71 in 1911 and was at its lowest, 0.133, in 2022.
That places Zambia 104th out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 115 years of available data.
Political centralization index in Zambia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1911 | 0.71 | — |
| 1912 | 0.71 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 0.71 | +0.0% |
| 1914 | 0.71 | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 0.71 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 0.71 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 0.71 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 0.71 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 0.71 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 0.71 | +0.0% |
| 1921 | 0.71 | +0.0% |
| 1922 | 0.71 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 0.71 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 0.662 | -6.8% |
| 1925 | 0.696 | +5.1% |
| 1926 | 0.49 | -29.6% |
| 1927 | 0.49 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 0.49 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 0.49 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 0.49 | +0.0% |
| 1931 | 0.49 | +0.0% |
| 1932 | 0.49 | +0.0% |
| 1933 | 0.49 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 0.49 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 0.49 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 0.49 | +0.0% |
| 1937 | 0.49 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 0.49 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 0.49 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 0.49 | +0.0% |
| 1941 | 0.49 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 0.49 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 0.49 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 0.49 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 0.49 | +0.0% |
| 1946 | 0.49 | +0.0% |
| 1947 | 0.49 | +0.0% |
| 1948 | 0.49 | +0.0% |
| 1949 | 0.49 | +0.0% |
| 1950 | 0.49 | +0.0% |
| 1951 | 0.49 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 0.49 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 0.554 | +13.1% |
| 1954 | 0.554 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 0.554 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 0.554 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 0.554 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 0.554 | +0.0% |
| 1959 | 0.554 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 0.554 | +0.0% |
| 1961 | 0.554 | +0.0% |
| 1962 | 0.554 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 0.511 | -7.8% |
| 1964 | 0.518 | +1.4% |
| 1965 | 0.493 | -4.8% |
| 1966 | 0.493 | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 0.487 | -1.2% |
| 1968 | 0.487 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 0.487 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.487 | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 0.487 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 0.487 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 0.511 | +4.9% |
| 1974 | 0.52 | +1.8% |
| 1975 | 0.52 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 0.52 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 0.52 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 0.52 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 0.52 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 0.52 | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 0.52 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0.52 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 0.52 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 0.52 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 0.52 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 0.52 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 0.52 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 0.52 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 0.52 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 0.467 | -10.2% |
| 1991 | 0.321 | -31.3% |
| 1992 | 0.297 | -7.5% |
| 1993 | 0.297 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 0.285 | -4.0% |
| 1995 | 0.285 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 0.275 | -3.5% |
| 1997 | 0.266 | -3.3% |
| 1998 | 0.266 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 0.266 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 0.266 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 0.259 | -2.6% |
| 2002 | 0.182 | -29.7% |
| 2003 | 0.182 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 0.182 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 0.157 | -13.7% |
| 2006 | 0.157 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 0.157 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 0.155 | -1.3% |
| 2009 | 0.174 | +12.3% |
| 2010 | 0.184 | +5.7% |
| 2011 | 0.176 | -4.3% |
| 2012 | 0.181 | +2.8% |
| 2013 | 0.196 | +8.3% |
| 2014 | 0.196 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 0.217 | +10.7% |
| 2016 | 0.249 | +14.7% |
| 2017 | 0.321 | +28.9% |
| 2018 | 0.3 | -6.5% |
| 2019 | 0.275 | -8.3% |
| 2020 | 0.329 | +19.6% |
| 2021 | 0.251 | -23.7% |
| 2022 | 0.133 | -47.0% |
| 2023 | 0.154 | +15.8% |
| 2024 | 0.233 | +51.3% |
| 2025 | 0.242 | +3.9% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 0.242 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.5475, 44% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 0.242 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.683, 35% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 0.71 | 0.71 | 0.71 | 9 |
| 1920s | 0.6158 | 0.49 | 0.71 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.49 | 0.49 | 0.49 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.49 | 0.49 | 0.49 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.5348 | 0.49 | 0.554 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.5138 | 0.487 | 0.554 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.5092 | 0.487 | 0.52 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.52 | 0.52 | 0.52 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.3025 | 0.266 | 0.467 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.1871 | 0.155 | 0.266 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.2295 | 0.176 | 0.321 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.2237 | 0.133 | 0.329 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More reference data data for Zambia
- Spring temperature anomalies -0.0386 (2026)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 0.0941 (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies -0.018 (2026)
- Country level monthly temperature anomalies 0.3261 (2026)
- Exchange rate, new LCU per USD extended backward, period average 18.94 (2026)
- Exchange rate, old LCU per USD extended forward, period average 18.94 (2026)
- Official exchange rate, LCU per USD, period average 18.94 (2026)
- Urban area long term, annual growth rate 3.69 % change on previous year (2025)
- Urban area long term, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Urban area long term, per capita 0.0001 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is political centralization index in Zambia?
- Political centralization index in Zambia was 0.242 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest political centralization index recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 0.71 in 1911.
- What is the lowest political centralization index recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.133 in 2022.
- How does Zambia rank for political centralization index?
- Zambia ranks 104th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is political centralization index rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Zambia data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Political centralization index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 115 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).