Mali vs Zambia
Mali vs Zambia: Government debt
Government debt in 2025: 40.3% of GDP in Mali and 100.6% of GDP in Zambia, by IMF estimates. In 2025 the value was higher in Zambia, by 60.3 percentage points, or 2.5 times that in Mali.
% of GDP · IMF
What the numbers say
- Zambia has been higher since 2011, when it overtook Mali.
- In 2025, Mali ranked 105 and Zambia ranked 13 of 149 countries, counting from the highest.
- The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts Mali at 39.8% of GDP and Zambia at 56.7% of GDP in 2031.
Every year
% of GDP · IMF
| Year | Mali | Zambia |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 40.3 | 100.6 |
| 2024 | 44 | 125.5 |
| 2023 | 44.2 | 136.8 |
| 2022 | 43 | 99.5 |
| 2021 | 43.2 | 111 |
| 2020 | 39.9 | 140 |
| 2019 | 34.3 | 103.3 |
| 2018 | 31.4 | 81.2 |
| 2017 | 30.2 | 66.6 |
| 2016 | 30.1 | 61.2 |
| 2015 | 25.8 | 61.9 |
| 2014 | 22.6 | 33.9 |
| 2013 | 22.2 | 25.9 |
| 2012 | 21.3 | 24.9 |
| 2011 | 20.1 | 20.8 |
| 2010 | 21.8 | 18.9 |
| 2009 | 18.8 | 20.5 |
| 2008 | 17.3 | 19.2 |
| 2007 | 15.6 | 21.9 |
| 2006 | 15.4 | 25 |
| 2005 | 39.5 | 75.8 |
| 2004 | 36.1 | 129.9 |
| 2003 | 37.7 | 159.5 |
| 2002 | 36 | 180.2 |
| 2001 | 66.3 | 210.2 |
| 2000 | 77 | 261 |
IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) · 2026–2031
| Year | Mali | Zambia |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 39.7 | 82.1 |
| 2027 | 39 | 77 |
| 2028 | 38.9 | 72.3 |
| 2029 | 39.1 | 67.2 |
| 2030 | 39.4 | 61.9 |
| 2031 | 39.8 | 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
Mali vs Zambia
Health
- Life expectancyMali: 60.4 years in 2023Zambia: 66.4 years in 2023
- Child mortalityMali: 7.3 per 100 live births in 2024Zambia: 4.8 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityMali: 60.8 per 1,000 live births in 2023Zambia: 38.2 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- DepressionMali: 3.01% in 2017Zambia: 3.64% in 2017
- Suicide rateMali: 6.8 per 100,000 people in 2017Zambia: 13.1 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationMali: 23.8 million people in 2023Zambia: 20.7 million people in 2023
- Population growthMali: 2.97% a year in 2023Zambia: 2.83% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateMali: 5.61 births per woman in 2023Zambia: 4.1 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationMali: 32.2% in 2025Zambia: 45.9% in 2025
- Median ageMali: 15.5 years in 2023Zambia: 17.5 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overMali: 2.4% in 2023Zambia: 1.9% in 2023
- Net migration rateMali: -1.7 per 1,000 people in 2023Zambia: 0.5 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingMali: 3.87% of GDP in 2025Zambia: 1.26% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsMali: $883M in 2025Zambia: $343M in 2025
- Military spending per personMali: $38 in 2025Zambia: $19 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingMali: 14.8% of government spending in 2025Zambia: 4.5% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelMali: 41,000 people in 2020Zambia: 16,000 people in 2020
- National powerMali: 0.1% of world capability in 2022Zambia: 0.1% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersMali: 0.54% of the labour force in 2020Zambia: 0.24% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsMali: 64 million TIV in 2025Zambia: 1 million TIV in 2024