Demographics of Zambia
This article is about the demographic features of the population of Zambia, including population density, ethnicity, education leve
Ethnic groups
's population comprises more than 70 Bantu-speaking ethnic groups. Some ethnic groups are small, and only two have enough people to constitute at least 10% of the population. The majority of Zambians are subsistence farmers, but the country is also fairly urbanised, with 42% of the population being city residents. The predominant religion is a blend of traditional beliefs and Christianity.Expatriates, mostly British or South African, as well as some white Zambian citizens, live mainly in Lusaka and in the Copperbelt in northern Zambia, where they are either employed in mines, financial and related activities or retired. Zambia also has a small but economically important Asian population, most of whom are Indians or Chinese.
2010 census
| Groups | Percentage |
| African | 99.2% |
| Bemba | 21% |
| Tonga | 13.6% |
| Chewa | 7.4% |
| Lozi | 5.7% |
| Nsenga | 5.3% |
| Tumbuka | 4.4% |
| Ngoni | 4% |
| Lala | 3.1% |
| Kaonde | 2.9% |
| Namwanga | 2.8% |
| Lunda | 2.6% |
| Mambwe | 2.5% |
| Luvale | 2.2% |
| Lamba | 2.1% |
| Ushi | 1.9% |
| Lenje | 1.6% |
| Bisa | 1.6% |
| Mbunda | 1.2% |
| Other | 13.8% |
| Unspecified | 0.4% |
Population
According to the total population of Zambia is in, compared to only 2 340 000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2010 was 46.4%, 50.6% was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 3.1% was 65 years or older.| Total population | Population aged 0–14 | Population aged 15–64 | Population aged 65+ | |
| 1950 | 2 340 000 | 44.9 | 52.3 | 2.7 |
| 1955 | 2 653 000 | 44.7 | 52.7 | 2.6 |
| 1960 | 3 045 000 | 44.9 | 52.6 | 2.5 |
| 1965 | 3 537 000 | 45.2 | 52.2 | 2.6 |
| 1970 | 4 139 000 | 46.4 | 50.9 | 2.7 |
| 1975 | 4 900 000 | 47.0 | 50.3 | 2.7 |
| 1980 | 5 775 000 | 47.3 | 49.9 | 2.8 |
| 1985 | 6 785 000 | 46.6 | 50.6 | 2.8 |
| 1990 | 7 860 000 | 45.8 | 51.4 | 2.8 |
| 1995 | 8 919 000 | 45.3 | 51.8 | 2.9 |
| 2000 | 10 202 000 | 45.3 | 51.8 | 2.9 |
| 2005 | 11 462 000 | 45.9 | 51.0 | 3.0 |
| 2010 | 13 089 000 | 46.4 | 50.6 | 3.1 |
| 2018 | 17,351,708 |
Vital statistics
Registration of vital events is in Zambia not complete. The Population Departement of the United Nations prepared the following estimates.Births and deaths
| Year | Population | Live births | Deaths | Natural increase | Crude birth rate | Crude death rate | Rate of natural increase | TFR |
| 2010 | 13 092 666 | 442 998 | 164 385 | 278 613 | 35,4 | 13,1 | 22,2 |
Fertility and births
Total Fertility Rate and Crude Birth Rate :| Year | CBR Total | TFR Total | CBR Urban | TFR Urban | CBR Rural | TFR Rural |
| 1992 | 45 | 6.5 | 44 | 5.8 | 46 | 7.1 |
| 1996 | 45.2 | 6.08 | 43.7 | 5.08 | 46.1 | 6.86 |
| 2001-2002 | 43.3 | 5.9 | 36.7 | 4.3 | 47.0 | 6.9 |
| 2007 | 43.6 | 6.2 | 36.3 | 4.3 | 47.5 | 7.5 |
| 2013-2014 | 37.2 | 5.3 | 32.2 | 3.7 | 40.3 | 6.6 |
| 2018 | 35.3 | 4.7 | 30.9 | 3.4 | 38.4 | 5.8 |
Fertility data as of 2013-2014 :
| Province | Total fertility rate | Percentage of women age 15-49 currently pregnant | Mean number of children ever born to women age 40-49 |
| Central | 5.9 | 8.1 | 6.8 |
| Copperbelt | 4.0 | 7.6 | 5.5 |
| Eastern | 5.8 | 8.7 | 6.9 |
| Luapula | 6.4 | 11.4 | 6.6 |
| Lusaka | 3.7 | 7.7 | 5.1 |
| Muchinga | 6.3 | 10.3 | 7.2 |
| Northern | 6.6 | 10.4 | 7.6 |
| North Western | 6.2 | 9.2 | 6.7 |
| Southern | 6.2 | 9.2 | 6.9 |
| Western | 5.6 | 8.1 | 6.0 |
Fertility rate by religion
At national level, the TFR was highest among women with no religious affiliation at 6.5. Among the women with religious affiliation Protestants had the highest TFR of 6.0, followed by Muslims with 5.9 and Catholics with 5.7.Life expectancy
Other demographic statistics
The following demographic statistics of Zambia in 2019 are from the World Population Review.- One birth every 47 seconds
- One death every 4 minutes
- One net migrant every 65 minutes
- Net gain of one person every 1 minutes