Merchandise exports to high-income economies in Zambia
Zambia: Merchandise exports to high-income economies was 51.0% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Merchandise exports to high-income economies in Zambia, 1964–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise exports.
Analysis
The most recent figure for merchandise exports to high-income economies in Zambia is 51.0%, measured in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 4.6% on the previous year and up 9.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise exports to high-income economies in Zambia peaked at 94.1% in 1968 and was at its lowest, 40.1%, in 1999.
Zambia ranks 138th of 206 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 60 years of available data.
Merchandise exports to high-income economies in Zambia, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise exports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1964 | 84.4% | — |
| 1965 | 88.5% | +4.9% |
| 1966 | 90.8% | +2.7% |
| 1967 | 89.2% | -1.8% |
| 1968 | 94.1% | +5.6% |
| 1969 | 93.3% | -0.9% |
| 1970 | 87.8% | -5.9% |
| 1971 | 81.1% | -7.7% |
| 1972 | 82.8% | +2.1% |
| 1973 | 85.4% | +3.2% |
| 1974 | 86.7% | +1.5% |
| 1975 | 89.9% | +3.7% |
| 1976 | 88.4% | -1.7% |
| 1977 | 90.5% | +2.4% |
| 1978 | 86.2% | -4.7% |
| 1979 | 84.0% | -2.6% |
| 1980 | 85.5% | +1.9% |
| 1981 | 78.5% | -8.2% |
| 1982 | 77.0% | -1.9% |
| 1983 | 77.0% | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 69.5% | -9.8% |
| 1985 | 68.6% | -1.3% |
| 1986 | 65.4% | -4.7% |
| 1987 | 65.3% | -0.1% |
| 1988 | 78.1% | +19.5% |
| 1989 | 75.2% | -3.7% |
| 1990 | 70.3% | -6.6% |
| 1991 | 59.1% | -15.8% |
| 1992 | 68.8% | +16.3% |
| 1993 | 65.0% | -5.5% |
| 1994 | 51.3% | -21.1% |
| 1995 | 58.0% | +13.1% |
| 1996 | 42.4% | -26.9% |
| 1997 | 60.5% | +42.7% |
| 1998 | 62.3% | +2.9% |
| 1999 | 40.1% | -35.6% |
| 2000 | 53.4% | +33.1% |
| 2001 | 64.5% | +20.8% |
| 2002 | 59.6% | -7.6% |
| 2003 | 48.1% | -19.3% |
| 2004 | 47.1% | -2.1% |
| 2005 | 53.5% | +13.7% |
| 2006 | 53.9% | +0.6% |
| 2007 | 57.5% | +6.8% |
| 2008 | 62.6% | +8.9% |
| 2009 | 60.2% | -3.8% |
| 2010 | 59.0% | -2.1% |
| 2011 | 59.6% | +1.0% |
| 2012 | 51.0% | -14.4% |
| 2013 | 46.5% | -8.7% |
| 2014 | 65.3% | +40.2% |
| 2015 | 60.0% | -8.0% |
| 2016 | 58.3% | -2.8% |
| 2017 | 61.5% | +5.4% |
| 2018 | 62.1% | +0.9% |
| 2019 | 53.8% | -13.4% |
| 2020 | 59.5% | +10.7% |
| 2021 | 61.0% | +2.4% |
| 2022 | 53.4% | -12.3% |
| 2023 | 51.0% | -4.6% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 51.0% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 51.0%, 1.0× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 51.0% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 49.5%, 1.0× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 90.1% | 84.4% | 94.1% | 6 |
| 1970s | 86.3% | 81.1% | 90.5% | 10 |
| 1980s | 74.0% | 65.3% | 85.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 57.8% | 40.1% | 70.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 56.0% | 47.1% | 64.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 57.7% | 46.5% | 65.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 56.2% | 51.0% | 61.0% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More private sector data for Zambia
- Merchandise trade 91.7% (2025)
- Food imports 7.8% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 64.4% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 13.17 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 8.7% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 14.1% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 13.31 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 607.56 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.461 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 18.07 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise exports to high-income economies in Zambia?
- Merchandise exports to high-income economies in Zambia was 51.0% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise exports to high-income economies recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 94.1% in 1968.
- What is the lowest merchandise exports to high-income economies recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 40.1% in 1999.
- How does Zambia rank for merchandise exports to high-income economies?
- Zambia ranks 138th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise exports to high-income economies rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Zambia data come from?
- The figures come from Staff estimates, World Bank (WB), published as part of Merchandise exports to high-income economies (% of total merchandise exports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 60 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Merchandise exports to high-income economies are the sum of merchandise exports from the reporting economy to high-income economies according to the World Bank classification of economies. Data are expressed as a percentage of total merchandise exports by the economy. Data are computed only if at least half of the economies in the partner country group had non-missing data.