Zambia: Economic Dissatisfaction and Country Direction, 2025

March 18, 2025 /Mpelembe Network/ — A survey conducted in Zambia in July 2024 reveals widespread dissatisfaction among citizens regarding the nation’s economic condition and overall direction. Despite earlier economic growth, a majority of Zambians perceive the economy as “fairly bad” or “very bad,” a significant increase from previous surveys.
The rising cost of living is identified as the most pressing concern, with citizens expressing low approval for the government’s handling of this issue. Consequently, many Zambians report a deterioration in their personal living conditions, including increased experiences of lacking sufficient food and clean water. Economic hardship is also a primary driver for those considering emigration.

Drawing on the survey conducted in Zambia between 8 and 28 July 2024, a significant majority of Zambian citizens hold negative views regarding their current economic situation and the overall direction of their country.

Specifically, the survey reveals that two-thirds (66%) of Zambians believe the country is heading in the wrong direction, marking a substantial 20-percentage-point increase from 2022. This negative perception is particularly widespread among the poorest citizens, less educated respondents, women, young people, and urbanites.

Regarding the economy, nearly three-quarters (73%) of citizens describe the country’s economic condition as “fairly bad” or “very bad”. This represents a significant deterioration from 2013 (36%) and a notable 21-percentage-point increase since 2022. This negative assessment is particularly prevalent among the economically worst-off (86%), those without formal education (80%), urban residents (78%), and young respondents (77%).

Furthermore, two-thirds (66%) of Zambians also describe their personal living conditions as “fairly bad” or “very bad”, which is about twice as many as in 2013 (34%). This aligns with the fact that a considerable proportion of citizens reported going without basic necessities in the past year. Roughly four in ten citizens said they went without enough food (43%) and/or enough clean water (39%) at least “several times”, with nearly half (48%) reporting going without needed medical care at least “several times”. The most common form of lived poverty reported was a lack of cash income, affecting 73% of Zambians at least “several times”.

The rising cost of living tops the list of urgent priorities that Zambians want the government to address, cited by 38% of respondents as one of their top three concerns. Only about one in ten Zambians (11%) think the government is doing a good job at keeping prices stable. Citizens also give the government low approval ratings on narrowing gaps between rich and poor (32%) and managing the economy (38%).

Economic unease is further highlighted by the fact that economic considerations dominate the reasons why Zambians consider emigrating. Among the 27% of respondents who have considered leaving the country, 50% said it would be to find work, and another 25% would leave to escape economic hardship or poverty.

The survey indicates a widespread dissatisfaction among Zambian citizens regarding the current economic situation and the direction the country is heading in 2025. Their primary concern is the increasing cost of living, and they express low confidence in the government’s handling of key economic issues. This disconnect between the GDP growth experienced between 2012 and 2023 and the current perceptions suggests a need for more inclusive economic development.

There has been a significant shift in how Zambian citizens perceive the national direction since 2022. In 2024, the survey found that two-thirds (66%) of Zambians say the country is heading in the wrong direction. This represents a substantial 20-percentage-point increase from the 46% who held this view in 2022.

This negative perception of the country’s direction is particularly widespread among several demographic groups in 2024, including the poorest citizens, less educated respondents, women, young people, and urbanites.

There is a clear relationship between economic emigration concerns and poverty in Zambia. The survey highlights that economic considerations are the primary driver behind Zambians considering emigration.

Specifically, among the 27% of respondents who reported having given at least “a little bit” of thought to emigrating, 50% stated their main reason would be to find work, while an additional 25% indicated they would leave to escape economic hardship or poverty. This means that a significant 75% of those considering emigration are doing so due to economic factors directly linked to their current impoverished or precarious financial situations.

This desire to emigrate for economic reasons is further underscored by the high levels of poverty reported in the country. According to the 2022 Living Conditions Monitoring Survey Report, a staggering 60% of the Zambian population lives below the poverty line, with the situation being even more severe in rural areas where 78.8% struggle to make ends meet. Furthermore, the Afrobarometer survey in 2024 found that nearly three-quarters (73%) of citizens describe the country’s economic condition as “fairly bad” or “very bad”. Many Zambians also report experiencing material deprivation, with 43% going without enough food and 39% without enough clean water at least “several times” during the previous year, and a significant 73% lacking a cash income at least “several times”.

Given these high levels of poverty and the widespread negative perceptions of the economic situation, it is understandable that many Zambians would consider emigration as a means to improve their living standards and escape poverty. The fact that escaping economic hardship/poverty and finding work constitute the overwhelming majority of reasons for considering emigration directly illustrates how deeply intertwined these concerns are. In essence, the desire to emigrate for economic reasons is a direct response to the pervasive poverty and lack of economic opportunities within Zambia as perceived by its citizens.

The increasing cost of living tops the list of urgent priorities that Zambians want the government to address, cited by 38% of respondents as one of their top three concerns.

Other significant priorities for government action include:

Water supply, which ranks second, cited by 35% of respondents as one of their top three priorities.

Health, which is the third most important problem, cited by 33% of respondents.

Infrastructure/roads, identified as a top three priority by 32% of respondents.

Farming/agriculture, considered a top three priority by 27% of respondents.

Food shortage/famine, cited by 26% of respondents among their top three priorities.

Electricity, which 21% of respondents identified as a top three priority for government action.

These priorities highlight the key areas where Zambian citizens believe the government needs to focus its efforts. The fact that the rising cost of living is the most pressing concern underscores the economic unease and hardship experienced by many Zambians, as discussed in our previous conversations.

There has been a notable shift in how Zambian citizens perceive their personal living conditions between 2013 and 2024. In 2013, 34% of Zambians described their personal living conditions as “fairly bad” or “very bad”. However, by 2024, this figure had significantly increased to 66%. This represents a substantial 32-percentage-point increase in the proportion of Zambians who view their personal living conditions negatively over this period.

Conversely, the percentage of Zambians who described their personal living conditions as “fairly good” or “very good” decreased from 56% in 2013 to 24% in 2024.

This marked deterioration in the perception of personal living conditions aligns with the reported experiences of material deprivation. As noted previously, in 2024, 43% of respondents said they or someone in their family went without enough food at least “several times” during the year, and 39% reported shortages of clean water at least “several times”. Furthermore, the most common form of lived poverty was a lack of a cash income, affecting 73% of Zambians at least “several times” during the previous year.

Therefore, the data from the surveys indicates a considerable worsening in how Zambian citizens perceive their own personal living conditions between 2013 and 2024, reflecting increased experiences of hardship and lack of basic necessities.

The full report is available here