Share of female sole proprietors in Zambia
Zambia: Share of female sole proprietors was 32.8% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of female sole proprietors in Zambia, 2014–2024
Source: World Bank's Entrepreneurship Survey and database (https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/entrepreneurship). Downloaded on May 2, 2026. Measured in % of sole proprietors.
Analysis
Zambia recorded 32.8% for share of female sole proprietors in 2024.
That represents a change of up 9.8% on the previous year and up 8.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of female sole proprietors in Zambia peaked at 39.2% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 26.9%, in 2017.
That places Zambia 54th out of 78 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 11 years of available data.
Share of female sole proprietors in Zambia, year by year
| Year | % of sole proprietors | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 30.3% | — |
| 2015 | 33.4% | +10.1% |
| 2016 | 28.8% | -13.8% |
| 2017 | 26.9% | -6.5% |
| 2018 | 27.3% | +1.4% |
| 2019 | 28.2% | +3.2% |
| 2020 | 31.3% | +11.3% |
| 2021 | 34.8% | +11.2% |
| 2022 | 39.2% | +12.4% |
| 2023 | 29.9% | -23.8% |
| 2024 | 32.8% | +9.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 29.2% | 26.9% | 33.4% | 6 |
| 2020s | 33.6% | 29.9% | 39.2% | 5 |
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 share of female sole proprietors in Zambia?
- Share of female sole proprietors in Zambia was 32.8% in 2024, according to World Bank's Entrepreneurship Survey and database (https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/entrepreneurship). Downloaded on May 2, 2026.
- What is the highest share of female sole proprietors recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 39.2% in 2022.
- What is the lowest share of female sole proprietors recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 26.9% in 2017.
- How does Zambia rank for share of female sole proprietors?
- Zambia ranks 54th out of 78 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of female sole proprietors rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zambia data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank's Entrepreneurship Survey and database (https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/entrepreneurship). Downloaded on May 2, 2026, published as part of Share of female sole proprietors (% of sole proprietors). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Share of female sole proprietors is the proportion of female newly registered sole proprietors out of the total number of newly registered sole proprietors in the economy in the calendar year. A sole proprietorship is a business entity owned and managed by a single individual who is indistinguishable from the business and personally liable.