Poverty gap index at $3 a day in Zambia
Zambia: Poverty gap index at $3 a day was 39.8% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Poverty gap index at $3 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
Zambia recorded 39.8% for poverty gap index at $3 a day in 2022.
The figure is up 3.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, poverty gap index at $3 a day in Zambia peaked at 40.6% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 25.1%, in 1996.
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 | 32.1% | 25.1% | 40.6% | 4 |
| 2000s | 35.5% | 29.1% | 40.2% | 3 |
| 2010s | 38.2% | 38.0% | 38.4% | 2 |
| 2020s | 39.8% | 39.8% | 39.8% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
- 1 Mozambique 44.7% compare
- 3 Malawi 33.8% compare
- 4 Burundi 32.4% compare
- 5 Madagascar 27.6% compare
More poverty & inequality data for Zambia
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 1 surveys (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 4.1 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 2,344 kg per hectare (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 16.2% (2023)
- Gender Inequality Index 0.524 (2023)
- Share of government consumption in GDP vs. share of population living in extreme poverty 17.2% (2023)
- Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient in women 0.1501 (2023)
- Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient by sex 0.1501 (2023)
- Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient in men 0.178 (2023)
- Income inequality: Atkinson index 0.634 (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is poverty gap index at $3 a day in Zambia?
- Poverty gap index at $3 a day in Zambia was 39.8% in 2022, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest poverty gap index at $3 a day recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 40.6% in 1991.
- What is the lowest poverty gap index at $3 a day recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 25.1% in 1996.
- How does Zambia rank for poverty gap index at $3 a day?
- Zambia ranks 2nd out of 120 countries with data for 2022.
- Is poverty gap index at $3 a day rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.6%. 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 gap index at $3 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
The poverty gap index is a poverty measure that reflects both the prevalence and the depth of poverty. It is calculated as the share of population in poverty multiplied by the average shortfall from the poverty line (expressed as a % of the poverty line).