Country profile · Southern Africa
Zambia
Zambia is a landlocked country in southern Africa with about 22 million people. It is Africa's second-largest copper miner after the DR Congo. President Hakainde Hichilema won a second term in August 2026 while the main opposition candidate was charged with treason. In 2020 Zambia became the first African country to default on its debt during the pandemic.
Where Zambia ranks
All rankings →Which alliances is Zambia in?
All alliances →Who runs Zambia?
President Hakainde Hichilema was born on June 4, 1962 in Monze district. He grew up poor and calls himself a "cattle boy." He studied economics at the University of Zambia on a scholarship and got an MBA at the University of Birmingham. He ran the accounting firm Grant Thornton in Zambia and became leader of the United Party for National Development in 2006. He lost five presidential elections before winning in 2021 on his sixth try. In 2017 he spent four months in jail on a treason charge after his convoy did not give way to President Edgar Lungu's motorcade. On August 13, 2026 he won a second and final term with 60.5% of the valid votes. Brian Mundubile came second with 37.9%. Turnout was 57%, down from 71% in 2021. European Union observers said the vote took place on an "uneven playing field." Mundubile and his running mate, Makebi Zulu, were later charged with treason and are in custody.
Photo (February 2025): Cabinet Public Relations Office, Government of Japan, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
Who are Zambia's allies and rivals?
China is Zambia's largest government creditor. The World Bank puts China's share of Zambia's public debt at 21%, and China's Export-Import Bank alone is owed more than $4 billion. In the 1970s China built the TAZARA railway, which runs 1,860 km from Zambia's Copperbelt to the port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. In September 2025 a Chinese state company signed a 30-year, $1.4 billion deal to rebuild and run it. The United States backs the Lobito Corridor, a railway to Angola's Atlantic coast that a new line through Zambia will join. In May 2025 the United States cut $50 million a year in health aid over stolen medicines. On October 8, 2026 the two countries signed a five-year health deal, with about $1.5 billion from the United States, after Zambia refused to tie it to minerals. The United Arab Emirates owns 51% of Mopani, a large copper mine.
Allies and partners
ChinaLargest government creditor; rebuilding the TAZARA railway
United StatesHealth aid deal; backs the Lobito railway
TanzaniaRailway and oil pipeline to Dar es Salaam
United Arab EmiratesOwns 51% of the Mopani copper mine
South AfricaLargest supplier of imports
- Kapiri Mposhi Start of the TAZARA railway to Dar es Salaam. A Chinese company is rebuilding it under a 30-year deal.
- Chambishi A waste dam at a Chinese-owned copper plant near here burst in February 2025, pouring acid into the Kafue River.
- Mwinilunga The African Development Bank is paying for a new rail line and road from here toward Angola, part of the Lobito Corridor.
- Kariba Dam Shared with Zimbabwe. In the 2024 drought it made about a fifth of its power, and blackouts reached 21 hours a day.
- Zambia
- Partner
Who does Zambia trade with?
Zambia exported goods worth $13.31 billion in 2025 and imported $13.17 billion (Bank of Zambia). Copper earns about 70% of export income. Canada was the largest buyer for the first time, with 26% of exports (chart). Switzerland bought 16.5%. Commodity trading firms based in Switzerland buy much of the copper and record the sale there, though the metal is shipped elsewhere. The DR Congo took 12% and China 8.9%. South Africa supplied 24.2% of imports and China 20.3%. Zambia also sells emeralds. The Kagem mine produces about a quarter of the world's emeralds. The 2024 drought cut the maize harvest by more than half. The 2026 harvest of about 4.9 million tonnes left a surplus, and Zambia lifted its ban on maize exports in April 2026. Zambians abroad sent home $404 million in 2025, only 1.4% of GDP. Inflation fell to 6.1% in September 2026, the lowest since 2018.
Sells to
Share of Zambia's exports
Canada26.0%
Switzerland16.5%
Singapore13.5%
DR Congo12.0%- China8.9%
Buys from
Share of Zambia's imports
- South Africa24.2%
- China20.3%
- United Arab Emirates7.9%
India4.5%
Japan4.0%
Goods, 2025. Bank of Zambia and Zambia Statistics Agency quarterly trade reports.
How much copper does Zambia mine?
Zambia mined 890,346 tonnes of copper in 2025, up about 8% from 2024, according to the Ministry of Mines. It missed its target of 1 million tonnes. The US Geological Survey puts Zambia seventh in the world, with 4.1% of all copper mined (chart). Only the DR Congo mines more in Africa. The government wants 3 million tonnes a year by 2031, but the Treasury's own plan reaches only 1.4 million tonnes by 2029. Output in the first half of 2026 grew by just 0.45%. The biggest mines belong to Canada's First Quantum and Barrick. Barrick is spending about $2 billion to expand its Lumwana mine from 2028. India's Vedanta took back Konkola Copper Mines in 2024. Hydropower made about 85% of Zambia's electricity in 2024, so the drought that year hit the mines as well. In June 2026 the power company said it did not expect nationwide power cuts to return.
Share of world copper mining, 2025
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Chile23.0%- DR Congo13.9%
Peru11.7%- China7.8%
Russia5.7%- United States4.3%
- Zambia4.1%
Australia3.2%
Indonesia3.1%
US Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, 2026
Why did Zambia default on its debt?
Zambia missed a $42.5 million interest payment on its bonds in October 2020. On November 13, 2020 it became the first African country to default during the Covid-19 pandemic. By 2023 public debt was about 133% of GDP. In June 2023 Zambia agreed new terms with its government creditors for $6.3 billion of debt, in a committee led by China and France. In March 2024 it reached a deal with bondholders on about $3 billion of bonds, and in 2025 it signed deals with Chinese lenders (chart). The World Bank and the IMF said on October 14, 2026 that the restructuring was "almost completed," with about 6% of the debt still to settle. An IMF loan of about $1.7 billion ended in January 2026. On October 9, 2026 the IMF agreed a new $1.47 billion program, which its board still has to approve. Public debt fell to about 88% of GDP in 2025.
Public foreign debt owed to Chinese lenders, Africa, 2024
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Angola$14.4bn
Ethiopia$7.4bn
Egypt$5.9bn
Kenya$5.4bn- Zambia$5.3bn
Nigeria$5.3bn
Côte d'Ivoire$4.1bn- DR Congo$3.5bn
World Bank International Debt Statistics, 2025 edition