Share of population living in the capital city in Zambia
Zambia: Share of population living in the capital city was 15.7% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Share of population living in the capital city in Zambia, 1960–2020
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2020, share of population living in the capital city in Zambia stood at 15.7%. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 17.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in the capital city in Zambia peaked at 15.7% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 2.3%, in 1960.
Zambia ranks 92nd of 170 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
Share of population living in the capital city in Zambia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 2.3% | — |
| 1965 | 3.0% | +30.2% |
| 1970 | 3.9% | +30.2% |
| 1975 | 4.4% | +12.8% |
| 1980 | 6.6% | +51.0% |
| 1985 | 7.9% | +19.2% |
| 1990 | 9.2% | +16.0% |
| 1995 | 9.7% | +6.0% |
| 2000 | 10.5% | +8.7% |
| 2005 | 12.0% | +13.5% |
| 2010 | 13.3% | +11.1% |
| 2015 | 14.5% | +8.6% |
| 2020 | 15.7% | +8.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.6% | 2.3% | 3.0% | 2 |
| 1970s | 4.1% | 3.9% | 4.4% | 2 |
| 1980s | 7.3% | 6.6% | 7.9% | 2 |
| 1990s | 9.4% | 9.2% | 9.7% | 2 |
| 2000s | 11.3% | 10.5% | 12.0% | 2 |
| 2010s | 13.9% | 13.3% | 14.5% | 2 |
| 2020s | 15.7% | 15.7% | 15.7% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More population data for Zambia
- Un population 2024 vs 2022, annual growth rate 0.5112 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population long run with projections, annual growth rate 0.5254 % change on previous year (2100)
- Urban and rural population 2050, annual growth rate 0.2495 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population regions with projections, annual growth rate 0.5254 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population growth rate, by level of development 0.5% (2100)
- Number of children under 5, by world region 4.60 million people (2100)
- Population density 86.73 people per km² (2100)
- World population growth 0.5% (2100)
- Projected population under age 5, annual growth rate -0.2967 % change on previous year (2100)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 03 - Annual population 2.52 Percent per annum (2030)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living in the capital city in Zambia?
- Share of population living in the capital city in Zambia was 15.7% in 2020, according to European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of population living in the capital city recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 15.7% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of population living in the capital city recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.3% in 1960.
- How does Zambia rank for share of population living in the capital city?
- Zambia ranks 92nd out of 170 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of population living in the capital city rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 17.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zambia data come from?
- The figures come from European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of population living in the capital city. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 13 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Percentage of the total population living in the country's capital city. City boundaries are defined using a consistent global approach based on satellite imagery and population data.