Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income in Zambia
Zambia: Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income was 21.9% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income in Zambia, 1991–2022
Source: World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income econ. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2022, proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income in Zambia stood at 21.9%.
That represents a change of up 12.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income in Zambia peaked at 34.6% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 13.2%, in 2002.
That places Zambia 4th out of 123 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 10 years of available data.
Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income in Zambia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 34.6% | — |
| 1993 | 25.7% | -25.7% |
| 1996 | 20.0% | -22.2% |
| 1998 | 20.7% | +3.5% |
| 2002 | 13.2% | -36.2% |
| 2004 | 22.0% | +66.7% |
| 2006 | 22.3% | +1.4% |
| 2010 | 19.5% | -12.6% |
| 2015 | 24.7% | +26.7% |
| 2022 | 21.9% | -11.3% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 21.9% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 10.8%, 2.0× the median. (29 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 21.9% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 11.1%, 2.0× the median. (26 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 25.2% | 20.0% | 34.6% | 4 |
| 2000s | 19.2% | 13.2% | 22.3% | 3 |
| 2010s | 22.1% | 19.5% | 24.7% | 2 |
| 2020s | 21.9% | 21.9% | 21.9% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More poverty & inequality data for Zambia
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 1 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ of GDP (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)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate -4.62 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 16.23 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 16.2% (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income in Zambia?
- Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income in Zambia was 21.9% in 2022, according to World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income econ.
- What is the highest proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 34.6% in 1991.
- What is the lowest proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 13.2% in 2002.
- How does Zambia rank for proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income?
- Zambia ranks 4th out of 123 countries with data for 2022.
- Is proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Zambia data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income econ, published as part of Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 10 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
The percentage of people in the population who live in households whose per capita income or consumption is below half of the median income or consumption per capita. The median is measured at 2021 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) using the Poverty and Inequality Platform (http://www.pip.worldbank.org). For some countries, medians are not reported due to grouped and/or confidential data. The reference year is the year in which the underlying household survey data was collected. In cases for which the data collection period bridged two calendar years, the first year in which data were collected is reported.