Zambia Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in zambia, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Investment Climate Statement
Last published date:

The U.S. Department of State’s Investment Climate Statements help U.S. companies make informed business decisions by providing up-to-date information on the investment climates of more than 170 countries and economies. They are prepared by our embassies and consulates around the world and analyze each economy’s openness to foreign investment. Topics include:

•    Openness to, and Restrictions upon, Foreign Investment, 
•    Investment and Taxation Treaties,
•    Legal Regime,
•    Industrial Policies,
•    Protection of Property Rights,
•    Financial Sector,
•    State-owned Enterprises,
•    Corruption,
•    Labor Policies and Practices,
•    Political and Security Environment, and
•    U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and Other Investment Insurance or Development Finance Programs

Each statement provides a starting point for U.S. firms and offers a point of contact at the relevant U.S. embassy or consulate abroad.

These reports are also a resource for foreign governments to create business environments that ensure fair treatment for the United States and our companies and investors. 

To access the full Investment Climate Statement, visit the U.S. Department of State Investment Climate Statements website.

Executive Summary - Zambia

With massive mineral reserves, abundant land and water, and a healthy and youthful population, Zambia has the potential to be an economic hub at the center of a sub-regional market of 250 million people, a key supplier of critical minerals, and a breadbasket and net exporter of security to the region. However, Zambia’s growth potential will continue to be severely constrained without governance and anti-corruption reforms, robust and non-partisan application of the law and sanctity of contracts, and business climate reforms to unleash economic growth. 

Zambia is a landlocked country in southern Africa that shares a border with eight countries: Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia. 
Zambia’s per capita income in 2024 was $1,187, and more than 60 percent of the population lives below the international poverty line of $2.15 per day (the average poverty rate across sub-Saharan Africa is 41 percent). With a population of 21.31 million people, three-quarters of whom live in rural areas, (more than 3 million people live in the capital Lusaka), Zambia presents a relatively small domestic market that is geographically dispersed across a country slightly larger than the state of Texas. Zambia is one of the world’s youngest countries by median age, and, given its fertility rate (24th highest globally), its population is projected to double by 2050.
From 2000 – 2018 (pre-COVID), Zambia had a robust average annual GDP growth rate above six percent and has been slowly recovering from the pandemic’s economic impact. In 2024, Zambia’s GDP was $26.33 billion. 

After defaulting on a Eurobond payment in November 2020, in December 2021, Zambia and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reached agreement on a $1.4 billion, three-year, extended credit facility program to help restore macroeconomic stability and promote inclusive economic recovery. Simultaneously, Zambia began the process of restructuring its debt under the G20 Common Framework. After three years of negotiations – extensively delayed by China – Zambia is now in the process of finalizing and executing separate repayment agreements with each of its bilateral and private creditors. Due to Zambia’s debt crisis and the IMF program’s borrowing constraints, the government’s ability to financially support new investments is highly constrained. 
Zambia is the world’s ninth largest copper producer and provides four percent of the global copper supply. Zambia’s exports are dominated by copper (worth $7.6 billion in 2024), which comprised more than 75 percent of Zambia’s export earnings and 40 percent of the government’s revenue in 2024. All other mining products and byproducts, including precious stones, totaled less than eight percent.   

President Hakainde Hichilema won the August 2021 election on a platform of promised democratic and economic reforms; however, progress enacting these reforms has been slow and limited. Pervasive corruption, cumbersome administrative procedures, inconsistent and unpredictable legal and regulatory policies, insufficient transparency in government contracting, lack of reliable electricity, high cost of doing business due to poor infrastructure, high cost of capital, and a shortage of skilled labor continue to undermine Zambia’s attractiveness as an investment destination. Despite these challenges, Zambia possesses globally significant resources and offers significant investment opportunities in the agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and ICT sectors.

The U.S. Embassy in Lusaka works closely with the American Chamber of Commerce in Zambia (AmCham) to support its American and Zambian members to increase bilateral trade and investment. U.S. firms are present and are exploring new projects in tourism, power generation, agriculture, and services. 
To access the full ICS for Zambia, please visit the U.S. Department of State’s Investment Climate Statements website.
To access the full ICS for Zambia, please visit the U.S. Department of State’s Investment Climate Statements website.

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