Burundi vs Zambia
Burundi vs Zambia: Government debt
Government debt in 2025: 42% of GDP in Burundi and 100.6% of GDP in Zambia, by IMF estimates. In 2025 the value was higher in Zambia, by 58.6 percentage points, or 2.39 times that in Burundi.
% of GDP · IMF
What the numbers say
- Zambia has been higher since 2015, when it overtook Burundi.
- In 2025, Burundi ranked 99 and Zambia ranked 13 of 149 countries, counting from the highest.
- The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts Burundi at 37.5% of GDP and Zambia at 56.7% of GDP in 2031.
Every year
% of GDP · IMF
| Year | Burundi | Zambia |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 42 | 100.6 |
| 2024 | 53.8 | 125.5 |
| 2023 | 60.4 | 136.8 |
| 2022 | 68.5 | 99.5 |
| 2021 | 66.4 | 111 |
| 2020 | 65.9 | 140 |
| 2019 | 60.1 | 103.3 |
| 2018 | 53 | 81.2 |
| 2017 | 46.9 | 66.6 |
| 2016 | 46.1 | 61.2 |
| 2015 | 39.9 | 61.9 |
| 2014 | 37.9 | 33.9 |
| 2013 | 37.9 | 25.9 |
| 2012 | 41.4 | 24.9 |
| 2011 | 42.7 | 20.8 |
| 2010 | 46.9 | 18.9 |
| 2009 | 25.7 | 20.5 |
| 2008 | 102.5 | 19.2 |
| 2007 | 129.6 | 21.9 |
| 2006 | 130.3 | 25 |
| 2005 | 137 | 75.8 |
| 2004 | 166.1 | 129.9 |
| 2003 | 159.9 | 159.5 |
| 2002 | 144.8 | 180.2 |
| 2001 | 113.6 | 210.2 |
| 2000 | 120 | 261 |
IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) · 2026–2031
| Year | Burundi | Zambia |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 40.4 | 82.1 |
| 2027 | 41.1 | 77 |
| 2028 | 39.1 | 72.3 |
| 2029 | 37.6 | 67.2 |
| 2030 | 37.9 | 61.9 |
| 2031 | 37.5 | 56.7 |
Each country on its own
Good to know
- What the government owes, as a share of the economy’s yearly output.
- Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook, October 2026.
- The dashed line is the IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026), a scenario rather than a forecast.
- Ranks count the 149 countries with a value in 2025, highest first.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time
Burundi vs Zambia
Health
- Life expectancyBurundi: 63.7 years in 2023Zambia: 66.4 years in 2023
- Child mortalityBurundi: 4.7 per 100 live births in 2024Zambia: 4.8 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityBurundi: 35.4 per 1,000 live births in 2023Zambia: 38.2 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- DepressionBurundi: 3.72% in 2017Zambia: 3.64% in 2017
- Suicide rateBurundi: 12.6 per 100,000 people in 2017Zambia: 13.1 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationBurundi: 13.7 million people in 2023Zambia: 20.7 million people in 2023
- Population growthBurundi: 2.71% a year in 2023Zambia: 2.83% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateBurundi: 4.88 births per woman in 2023Zambia: 4.1 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationBurundi: 25.7% in 2025Zambia: 45.9% in 2025
- Median ageBurundi: 15.9 years in 2023Zambia: 17.5 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overBurundi: 2.5% in 2023Zambia: 1.9% in 2023
- Net migration rateBurundi: 0.1 per 1,000 people in 2023Zambia: 0.5 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingBurundi: 3.24% of GDP in 2025Zambia: 1.26% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsBurundi: $169M in 2025Zambia: $343M in 2025
- Military spending per personBurundi: $16 in 2025Zambia: $19 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingBurundi: 14.9% of government spending in 2025Zambia: 4.5% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelBurundi: 31,000 people in 2020Zambia: 16,000 people in 2020
- National powerBurundi: 0.06% of world capability in 2022Zambia: 0.1% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersBurundi: 0.59% of the labour force in 2020Zambia: 0.24% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsBurundi: 2 million TIV in 2019Zambia: 1 million TIV in 2024