Relative poverty: Share of population below 50% of the median in Zambia
Zambia: Relative poverty: Share of population below 50% of the median was 21.9% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Relative poverty: Share of population below 50% of the median in Zambia, 1991–2022
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2022, relative poverty: share of population below 50% of the median in Zambia stood at 21.9%.
That represents a change of up 12.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, relative poverty: share of population below 50% of the median in Zambia peaked at 34.6% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 13.2%, in 2002.
Zambia ranks 4th of 120 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 10 years of available data.
Relative poverty: Share of population below 50% of the median in Zambia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 34.6% | — |
| 1993 | 25.7% | -25.7% |
| 1996 | 20.0% | -22.2% |
| 1998 | 20.7% | +3.4% |
| 2002 | 13.2% | -36.5% |
| 2004 | 22.0% | +67.1% |
| 2006 | 22.3% | +1.5% |
| 2010 | 19.5% | -12.6% |
| 2015 | 24.7% | +26.6% |
| 2022 | 21.9% | -11.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 25.3% | 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 relative poverty: share of population below 50% of the median in Zambia?
- Relative poverty: share of population below 50% of the median in Zambia was 21.9% in 2022, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest relative poverty: share of population below 50% of the median recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 34.6% in 1991.
- What is the lowest relative poverty: share of population below 50% of the median recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 13.2% in 2002.
- How does Zambia rank for relative poverty: share of population below 50% of the median?
- Zambia ranks 4th out of 120 countries with data for 2022.
- Is relative poverty: share of population below 50% of the median rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.2%. 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 (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Relative poverty: Share of population below 50% of the median. 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
Percentage of population living in households with an income or consumption below 50% of the median.