Statizoid

Population in Zambia

Zambia: Population was 20.72 million people in 2023. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2023)
20.72 million people
Change on year
up 2.8%
World rank
63rd
of 238 countries
All-time high
20.72 million people
in 2023
All-time low
151,500 people
in 1000
Years of data
241
1000–2023

Population in Zambia, 1000–2023

05.0M10.0M15.0M20.0M100015112023

Source: HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.

Analysis

The most recent figure for population in Zambia is 20.72 million people, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 241 years on record.

The figure is up 2.8% on the previous year and up 34.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, population in Zambia peaked at 20.72 million people in 2023 and was at its lowest, 151,500 people, in 1000.

Zambia ranks 63rd of 238 countries on this measure, 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
1000s 151,500 people 151,500 people 151,500 people 1
1100s 181,800 people 181,800 people 181,800 people 1
1200s 212,100 people 212,100 people 212,100 people 1
1300s 242,400 people 242,400 people 242,400 people 1
1400s 272,700 people 272,700 people 272,700 people 1
1500s 303,000 people 303,000 people 303,000 people 1
1600s 328,755 people 328,755 people 328,755 people 1
1700s 354,510 people 354,510 people 354,510 people 1
1710s 340,320 people 340,320 people 340,320 people 1
1720s 346,823 people 346,823 people 346,823 people 1
1730s 353,744 people 353,744 people 353,744 people 1
1740s 361,130 people 361,130 people 361,130 people 1
1750s 369,038 people 369,038 people 369,038 people 1
1760s 377,533 people 377,533 people 377,533 people 1
1770s 386,691 people 386,691 people 386,691 people 1
1780s 396,607 people 396,607 people 396,607 people 1
1790s 407,390 people 407,390 people 407,390 people 1
1800s 800,457 people 747,000 people 856,117 people 10
1810s 931,599 people 869,384 people 996,378 people 10
1820s 1.08 million people 1.01 million people 1.16 million people 10
1830s 1.26 million people 1.18 million people 1.35 million people 10
1840s 1.47 million people 1.37 million people 1.57 million people 10
1850s 1.59 million people 1.58 million people 1.60 million people 10
1860s 1.60 million people 1.60 million people 1.60 million people 10
1870s 1.60 million people 1.60 million people 1.61 million people 10
1880s 1.62 million people 1.61 million people 1.64 million people 10
1890s 1.63 million people 1.62 million people 1.64 million people 10
1900s 1.57 million people 1.52 million people 1.61 million people 10
1910s 1.48 million people 1.46 million people 1.51 million people 10
1920s 1.55 million people 1.46 million people 1.65 million people 10
1930s 1.79 million people 1.68 million people 1.90 million people 10
1940s 2.09 million people 1.93 million people 2.27 million people 10
1950s 2.67 million people 2.32 million people 3.06 million people 10
1960s 3.65 million people 3.15 million people 4.20 million people 10
1970s 4.94 million people 4.32 million people 5.63 million people 10
1980s 6.69 million people 5.80 million people 7.59 million people 10
1990s 8.71 million people 7.79 million people 9.74 million people 10
2000s 11.62 million people 10.02 million people 13.49 million people 10
2010s 16.19 million people 13.97 million people 18.51 million people 10
2020s 19.88 million people 19.06 million people 20.72 million people 4

Countries ranked near Zambia

  1. 60 Burkina Faso 23.03 million people compare
  2. 61 Sri Lanka 22.97 million people compare
  3. 62 Malawi 21.10 million people compare
  4. 64 Kazakhstan 20.33 million people compare
  5. 65 Chile 19.66 million people compare
  6. 66 Chad 19.32 million people compare

See the full ranking of 239 places →

More population data for Zambia

All data for Zambia →

Frequently asked questions

What is population in Zambia?
Population in Zambia was 20.72 million people in 2023, according to HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest population recorded in Zambia?
The highest recorded value was 20.72 million people in 2023.
What is the lowest population recorded in Zambia?
The lowest recorded value was 151,500 people in 1000.
How does Zambia rank for population?
Zambia ranks 63rd out of 238 countries with data for 2023.
Is population rising or falling in Zambia?
Over the last ten years it is up 34.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Zambia data come from?
The figures come from HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Population. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 241 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Population
Unit
people
Source
HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
239 places, 51,002 data points, 1000–2023
Last refreshed

Population by country, available from 10,000 BCE to 2023, based on data and estimates from different sources.