The increasing cost of living tops the list of the most important problems that Zambians want their government to address.
Key findings
- Two-thirds (66%) of Zambians say the country is heading in the wrong direction, a 20- percentage-point increase from 2022.
- The increasing cost of living tops the list of the most important problems that Zambians want the government to address.
- Economic considerations dominate the reasons that Zambians consider emigrating from their country.
- Nearly three-quarters (73%) of citizens describe the country's economic condition as "fairly bad" or "very bad." o Poor, less educated, and urban respondents are particularly likely to see the country's economic condition as bad.
- Citizens give the government mixed marks on key economic indicators, with low approval ratings on keeping prices stable (11%), narrowing gaps between rich and poor (32%), and managing the economy (38%). Ratings are somewhat more positive on improving the living standards of the poor (50%) and creating jobs (56%). o Only 36% think the economic situation will get better during the coming year.
- Two-thirds (66%) of Zambians describe their personal living conditions as "fairly bad" or "very bad."
- Roughly four in 10 citizens say they went without enough food (43%) and/or went without enough clean water (39%) at least "several times" during the past year, modest increases compared to 2022. Almost half (48%) report going without needed medical care, a 23-percentage-point improvement from 2022.
Between 2012 and 2023, Zambia's economy experienced a remarkable growth streak that saw its gross domestic product (GDP) rise at an average annual rate of 4.85% (Macrotrends, 2025). Despite this rapid growth, Zambia was reclassified from the ranks of lower-middle income countries to low-income status in 2022 due to a variety of economic challenges (United Nations Zambia, 2024).
Poverty remains pervasive, with a staggering 60% of the population living below the poverty line, according to the 2022 Living Conditions Monitoring Survey Report (Zambia Statistics Agency, 2022). The situation is even more dire in rural areas, where a staggering 78.8% of the population struggle to make ends meet.
Moreover, lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, global geopolitical tensions, and drought have all but derailed the economic growth train. Even after recovering from the crippling effects of pandemic lockdowns, Zambia has suffered from supply-chain disruptions (e.g. for fertilisers) due to the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Palestine conflicts while drought has resulted in crop losses and inadequate water supplies to run hydropower stations (Chibwili, 2021, 2023a, 2023b, 2024; Lin, Xuecao, & Gia, 2023; Geda, 2021; International Labour Organization, 2021). Falling prices for copper, a key contributor to Zambia's export earnings, worsened the economic outlook.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
According to the Afrobarometer Round 10 survey, a majority of Zambians are dissatisfied with their country's economic condition and overall direction. Most Zambians also describe their personal living conditions as bad, and more than four in 10 report going without enough food and without needed medical care at least "several times" during the previous year.
The rising cost of living tops citizens' list of urgent priorities, an issue on which only one in 10 Zambians think the government is doing a good job.
Edward Chibwili Edward Chibwili is the national investigator for Zambia.
