Share of children, working-age adults, and older people in Zambia

Zambia: Share of children, working-age adults, and older people was 8.69 million people in 2023. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2023)
8.69 million people
Change on year
up 1.7%
World rank
48th
of 236 countries
All-time high
8.69 million people
in 2023
All-time low
1.04 million people
in 1950
Years of data
74
1950–2023

Share of children, working-age adults, and older people in Zambia, 1950–2023

2.0M4.0M6.0M8.0M195019862023

Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in people.

Analysis

Zambia recorded 8.69 million people for share of children, working-age adults, and older people in 2023. That is the highest value across all 74 years on record.

That represents a change of up 1.7% on the previous year and up 23.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of children, working-age adults, and older people in Zambia peaked at 8.69 million people in 2023 and was at its lowest, 1.04 million people, in 1950.

Zambia ranks 48th of 236 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

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

Share of children, working-age adults, and older people in Zambia, year by year

Annual values for Share of children, working-age adults, and older people in Zambia, 1950 to 2023.
Year people Change
1950 1.04 million people
1951 1.07 million people +3.3%
1952 1.11 million people +3.3%
1953 1.15 million people +3.3%
1954 1.18 million people +3.4%
1955 1.22 million people +3.4%
1956 1.27 million people +3.4%
1957 1.31 million people +3.4%
1958 1.36 million people +3.4%
1959 1.40 million people +3.5%
1960 1.45 million people +3.5%
1961 1.50 million people +3.5%
1962 1.56 million people +3.5%
1963 1.61 million people +3.7%
1964 1.67 million people +3.7%
1965 1.73 million people +3.5%
1966 1.79 million people +3.4%
1967 1.85 million people +3.4%
1968 1.91 million people +3.4%
1969 1.98 million people +3.5%
1970 2.05 million people +3.5%
1971 2.12 million people +3.5%
1972 2.20 million people +3.5%
1973 2.27 million people +3.5%
1974 2.35 million people +3.5%
1975 2.44 million people +3.6%
1976 2.52 million people +3.5%
1977 2.61 million people +3.5%
1978 2.70 million people +3.3%
1979 2.79 million people +3.2%
1980 2.87 million people +3.1%
1981 2.96 million people +3.0%
1982 3.05 million people +3.0%
1983 3.14 million people +3.0%
1984 3.23 million people +2.9%
1985 3.32 million people +2.8%
1986 3.41 million people +2.8%
1987 3.50 million people +2.7%
1988 3.59 million people +2.6%
1989 3.68 million people +2.5%
1990 3.77 million people +2.4%
1991 3.86 million people +2.3%
1992 3.94 million people +2.3%
1993 4.04 million people +2.3%
1994 4.13 million people +2.4%
1995 4.24 million people +2.5%
1996 4.34 million people +2.5%
1997 4.45 million people +2.6%
1998 4.57 million people +2.6%
1999 4.69 million people +2.6%
2000 4.81 million people +2.6%
2001 4.94 million people +2.7%
2002 5.07 million people +2.7%
2003 5.21 million people +2.8%
2004 5.36 million people +2.9%
2005 5.52 million people +3.0%
2006 5.70 million people +3.1%
2007 5.88 million people +3.2%
2008 6.07 million people +3.2%
2009 6.26 million people +3.2%
2010 6.46 million people +3.1%
2011 6.66 million people +3.0%
2012 6.85 million people +2.9%
2013 7.04 million people +2.8%
2014 7.23 million people +2.6%
2015 7.41 million people +2.5%
2016 7.59 million people +2.4%
2017 7.76 million people +2.3%
2018 7.93 million people +2.2%
2019 8.10 million people +2.1%
2020 8.26 million people +2.0%
2021 8.41 million people +1.8%
2022 8.55 million people +1.7%
2023 8.69 million people +1.7%

Zambia compared with similar countries

  • Zambia's 8.69 million people is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 3.69 million people, 2.4× the median. (47 countries reporting)
  • Zambia's 8.69 million people is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 6.08 million people, 1.4× the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 1.21 million people 1.04 million people 1.40 million people 10
1960s 1.71 million people 1.45 million people 1.98 million people 10
1970s 2.40 million people 2.05 million people 2.79 million people 10
1980s 3.27 million people 2.87 million people 3.68 million people 10
1990s 4.20 million people 3.77 million people 4.69 million people 10
2000s 5.48 million people 4.81 million people 6.26 million people 10
2010s 7.30 million people 6.46 million people 8.10 million people 10
2020s 8.48 million people 8.26 million people 8.69 million people 4

Countries ranked near Zambia

  1. 45 Burkina Faso 9.76 million people compare
  2. 46 Chad 9.03 million people compare
  3. 47 Malawi 8.72 million people compare
  4. 49 Somalia 8.57 million people compare
  5. 50 Nepal 8.53 million people compare
  6. 51 Peru 8.24 million people compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More population data for Zambia

All data for Zambia →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of children, working-age adults, and older people in Zambia?
Share of children, working-age adults, and older people in Zambia was 8.69 million people in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of children, working-age adults, and older people recorded in Zambia?
The highest recorded value was 8.69 million people in 2023.
What is the lowest share of children, working-age adults, and older people recorded in Zambia?
The lowest recorded value was 1.04 million people in 1950.
How does Zambia rank for share of children, working-age adults, and older people?
Zambia ranks 48th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is share of children, working-age adults, and older people rising or falling in Zambia?
Over the last ten years it is up 23.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Zambia data come from?
The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children, working-age adults, and older people. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Share of children, working-age adults, and older people in Zambia. Statizoid, drawing on UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://population.statizoid.com/stat/population-young-working-old/zambia/

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About this data

Indicator
Share of children, working-age adults, and older people
Unit
people
Source
UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
236 places, 17,464 data points, 1950–2023
Last refreshed

Total population, measured on 1 July of the year shown. This only includes people aged 0-14.