Total shortfall from extreme poverty in Zambia
Zambia: Total shortfall from extreme poverty was 8.77 billion international-$ in 2021 prices in 2022. ▲ Rising
Total shortfall from extreme poverty in Zambia, 1991–2022
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in international-$ in 2021 prices.
Analysis
The most recent figure for total shortfall from extreme poverty in Zambia is 8.77 billion international-$ in 2021 prices, measured in 2022. That is the highest value across all 10 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 49.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, total shortfall from extreme poverty in Zambia peaked at 8.77 billion international-$ in 2021 prices in 2022 and was at its lowest, 2.47 billion international-$ in 2021 prices, in 1996.
Zambia ranks 9th 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 | 3.03 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | 2.47 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | 3.55 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | 4 |
| 2000s | 4.55 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | 3.49 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | 5.44 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | 3 |
| 2010s | 6.35 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | 5.87 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | 6.82 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | 2 |
| 2020s | 8.77 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | 8.77 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | 8.77 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | 1 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
- 6 Uganda 11.20 billion international-$ in 2021 prices compare
- 7 Tanzania 10.50 billion international-$ in 2021 prices compare
- 8 Madagascar 9.14 billion international-$ in 2021 prices compare
- 10 Kenya 8.18 billion international-$ in 2021 prices compare
- 11 Malawi 7.10 billion international-$ in 2021 prices compare
- 12 Ghana 5.18 billion international-$ in 2021 prices 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)
- 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)
- Share of government consumption in GDP vs. share of population living in extreme poverty 17.2% (2023)
- Income inequality: Atkinson index 0.634 (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is total shortfall from extreme poverty in Zambia?
- Total shortfall from extreme poverty in Zambia was 8.77 billion international-$ in 2021 prices in 2022, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest total shortfall from extreme poverty recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 8.77 billion international-$ in 2021 prices in 2022.
- What is the lowest total shortfall from extreme poverty recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.47 billion international-$ in 2021 prices in 1996.
- How does Zambia rank for total shortfall from extreme poverty?
- Zambia ranks 9th out of 120 countries with data for 2022.
- Is total shortfall from extreme poverty rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 49.5%. 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 Total shortfall from extreme poverty. 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
This is the amount of money that would be theoretically needed to lift the income or consumption of all people in poverty up to $3 per day. However, this is not a measure of the actual cost of eliminating poverty, since it does not take into account the costs involved in making the necessary transfers nor any changes in behavior they would bring about.