Poverty: Share of population living on less than $1 a day in Zambia
Zambia: Poverty: Share of population living on less than $1 a day was 28.4% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $1 a day in Zambia, 1991–2022
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2022, poverty: share of population living on less than $1 a day in Zambia stood at 28.4%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 13.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, poverty: share of population living on less than $1 a day in Zambia peaked at 36.0% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 10.7%, in 2002.
Zambia ranks 2nd of 120 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 10 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 21.6% | 11.4% | 36.0% | 4 |
| 2000s | 21.7% | 10.7% | 29.2% | 3 |
| 2010s | 26.4% | 25.0% | 27.8% | 2 |
| 2020s | 28.4% | 28.4% | 28.4% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
- 1 Mozambique 28.9% compare
- 3 Malawi 12.6% compare
- 4 Burundi 11.4% compare
- 5 Madagascar 7.9% compare
More reference data data for Zambia
- Spring temperature anomalies -0.0386 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies -0.018 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 0.3261 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 0.5273 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies -0.2981 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 483.32 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 1 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is poverty: share of population living on less than $1 a day in Zambia?
- Poverty: share of population living on less than $1 a day in Zambia was 28.4% in 2022, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest poverty: share of population living on less than $1 a day recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 36.0% in 1991.
- What is the lowest poverty: share of population living on less than $1 a day recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.7% in 2002.
- How does Zambia rank for poverty: share of population living on less than $1 a day?
- Zambia ranks 2nd out of 120 countries with data for 2022.
- Is poverty: share of population living on less than $1 a day rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 13.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zambia data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Poverty: Share of population living on less than $1 a day. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 10 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Percentage of population living in households with an income or consumption below $1 per day.