Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million in Zambia
Zambia: Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million was 15.8% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million in Zambia, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects 2018, United Nations (UN). Measured in % of total population.
Analysis
Zambia recorded 15.8% for population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million in 2025. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
The figure is up 1.6% on the previous year and up 18.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million in Zambia peaked at 15.8% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 2.9%, in 1960.
Zambia ranks 87th of 121 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million in Zambia, year by year
| Year | % of total population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 2.9% | — |
| 1961 | 3.1% | +7.9% |
| 1962 | 3.4% | +7.9% |
| 1963 | 3.6% | +8.1% |
| 1964 | 4.0% | +9.3% |
| 1965 | 4.3% | +9.2% |
| 1966 | 4.7% | +9.2% |
| 1967 | 5.2% | +9.2% |
| 1968 | 5.6% | +9.2% |
| 1969 | 6.1% | +9.2% |
| 1970 | 6.4% | +4.5% |
| 1971 | 6.7% | +3.8% |
| 1972 | 6.9% | +3.8% |
| 1973 | 7.2% | +3.7% |
| 1974 | 7.4% | +3.7% |
| 1975 | 7.7% | +3.6% |
| 1976 | 8.0% | +3.6% |
| 1977 | 8.3% | +3.5% |
| 1978 | 8.6% | +3.6% |
| 1979 | 8.9% | +3.6% |
| 1980 | 9.2% | +3.6% |
| 1981 | 9.2% | +0.7% |
| 1982 | 9.3% | +0.3% |
| 1983 | 9.3% | +0.3% |
| 1984 | 9.3% | +0.4% |
| 1985 | 9.4% | +0.5% |
| 1986 | 9.4% | +0.5% |
| 1987 | 9.5% | +0.6% |
| 1988 | 9.6% | +0.8% |
| 1989 | 9.6% | +0.8% |
| 1990 | 9.7% | +0.9% |
| 1991 | 9.8% | +1.0% |
| 1992 | 9.9% | +1.1% |
| 1993 | 10.0% | +1.1% |
| 1994 | 10.2% | +1.1% |
| 1995 | 10.3% | +1.1% |
| 1996 | 10.4% | +1.0% |
| 1997 | 10.5% | +0.9% |
| 1998 | 10.6% | +0.9% |
| 1999 | 10.6% | +0.8% |
| 2000 | 10.7% | +0.7% |
| 2001 | 10.9% | +1.4% |
| 2002 | 11.0% | +1.7% |
| 2003 | 11.2% | +1.7% |
| 2004 | 11.4% | +1.6% |
| 2005 | 11.6% | +1.5% |
| 2006 | 11.7% | +1.3% |
| 2007 | 11.9% | +1.3% |
| 2008 | 12.0% | +1.2% |
| 2009 | 12.2% | +1.2% |
| 2010 | 12.3% | +1.3% |
| 2011 | 12.5% | +1.5% |
| 2012 | 12.7% | +1.5% |
| 2013 | 12.9% | +1.6% |
| 2014 | 13.1% | +1.6% |
| 2015 | 13.3% | +1.7% |
| 2016 | 13.6% | +1.7% |
| 2017 | 13.8% | +1.7% |
| 2018 | 14.0% | +1.8% |
| 2019 | 14.3% | +1.8% |
| 2020 | 14.6% | +1.8% |
| 2021 | 14.8% | +1.8% |
| 2022 | 15.1% | +1.8% |
| 2023 | 15.4% | +1.7% |
| 2024 | 15.6% | +1.6% |
| 2025 | 15.8% | +1.6% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 15.8% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 18.9%, 84% of the median. (30 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 15.8% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 14.8%, 1.1× the median. (30 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 4.3% | 2.9% | 6.1% | 10 |
| 1970s | 7.6% | 6.4% | 8.9% | 10 |
| 1980s | 9.4% | 9.2% | 9.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 10.2% | 9.7% | 10.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 11.5% | 10.7% | 12.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 13.3% | 12.3% | 14.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 15.2% | 14.6% | 15.8% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More climate change data for Zambia
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 303.19 million kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 7,547 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 2,795 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 4,752 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 10.55 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 169.71 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 2,153 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 2,033 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 120.21 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 7.67 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million in Zambia?
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million in Zambia was 15.8% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects 2018, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 15.8% in 2025.
- What is the lowest population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.9% in 1960.
- How does Zambia rank for population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million?
- Zambia ranks 87th out of 121 countries with data for 2025.
- Is population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 18.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zambia data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects 2018, United Nations (UN), published as part of Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million (% of total population). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Population in urban agglomerations of more than one million is the percentage of a country's population living in metropolitan areas that in 2018 had a population of more than one million people.