Zambia’s GDP per capita rose to $1,318 in 2025.

Higher is better. A higher figure is better because it means more output for each person, which gives room for higher incomes, public services and investment. The latest figure, for 2025, is $1,318, up from $1,187 in 2024, a rise of 11%, or $131. Over the period since 2016 the lowest point was $952 in 2020 and the highest was $1,483 in 2017. The latest figure therefore sits well above that low and still below the 2017 peak, so the recovery is substantial but incomplete.

Why it matters. At $1,318 a head, average income in Zambia is still lower than it was in 2017, so many households have yet to see living standards return to that earlier level. Because the measure is in dollars, the exchange rate matters a great deal for families and firms that buy imported fuel, fertiliser and goods. For the state, a larger economy per person widens the tax base, which matters for servicing debt and paying for health and schools.