Zambia’s credit to private sector rose to 19.2% of GDP in 2025.

Neither way is good in itself. A higher share can mean firms and families have more access to finance, and it can also mean debt is building faster than incomes, so the direction alone carries no verdict. The latest figure, 19.2% of GDP for 2025, is up from 17% of GDP a year earlier, a rise of 2.2 percentage points. It is the highest point since 2016, and it sits well above the low of 11.4% of GDP in 2021. Private credit has therefore recovered from that trough and moved to the top of its range for the period.

Why it matters. For Zambian firms, a deeper credit market can mean easier access to working capital and investment loans, provided borrowing costs stay manageable. Households that borrow more carry larger repayments, so the strain depends on how fast incomes grow. For the state, a growing private credit share widens the base of lending that banks can compete for against government borrowing, so lenders' appetite for government paper is worth checking in the next annual reading.