South Africa vs Zambia
South Africa vs Zambia: Government debt
Government debt: 76% of GDP in South Africa in 2024 and 100.6% of GDP in Zambia in 2025, by IMF estimates. In 2024 the value was higher in Zambia, by 49.5 percentage points, or 1.65 times that in South Africa.
% of GDP · IMF
What the numbers say
- Zambia has been higher since 2015, when it overtook South Africa.
- The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts South Africa at 79.8% of GDP and Zambia at 56.7% of GDP in 2031.
Every year
% of GDP · IMF
| Year | South Africa | Zambia |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 78.4 | 100.6 |
| 2024 | 76 | 125.5 |
| 2023 | 73.2 | 136.8 |
| 2022 | 70.7 | 99.5 |
| 2021 | 68.8 | 111 |
| 2020 | 68.9 | 140 |
| 2019 | 56.1 | 103.3 |
| 2018 | 51.5 | 81.2 |
| 2017 | 48.6 | 66.6 |
| 2016 | 47.1 | 61.2 |
| 2015 | 45.2 | 61.9 |
| 2014 | 43.3 | 33.9 |
| 2013 | 40.4 | 25.9 |
| 2012 | 37.4 | 24.9 |
| 2011 | 34.7 | 20.8 |
| 2010 | 31.2 | 18.9 |
| 2009 | 27 | 20.5 |
| 2008 | 24.1 | 19.2 |
| 2007 | 24.3 | 21.9 |
| 2006 | 28 | 25 |
| 2005 | 29.6 | 75.8 |
| 2004 | 30.7 | 129.9 |
| 2003 | 31.5 | 159.5 |
| 2002 | 31.8 | 180.2 |
| 2001 | 38.1 | 210.2 |
| 2000 | 37.9 | 261 |
- 12.3Projected
IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) · 2026–2031
| Year | South Africa | Zambia |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 78 | 82.1 |
| 2027 | 78.1 | 77 |
| 2028 | 78.8 | 72.3 |
| 2029 | 79.5 | 67.2 |
| 2030 | 79.7 | 61.9 |
| 2031 | 79.8 | 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
South Africa vs Zambia
Health
- Life expectancySouth Africa: 66.1 years in 2023Zambia: 66.4 years in 2023
- Child mortalitySouth Africa: 3.5 per 100 live births in 2024Zambia: 4.8 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalitySouth Africa: 27.9 per 1,000 live births in 2023Zambia: 38.2 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- DepressionSouth Africa: 3.75% in 2017Zambia: 3.64% in 2017
- Suicide rateSouth Africa: 11.2 per 100,000 people in 2017Zambia: 13.1 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationSouth Africa: 63.2 million people in 2023Zambia: 20.7 million people in 2023
- Population growthSouth Africa: 1.32% a year in 2023Zambia: 2.83% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateSouth Africa: 2.22 births per woman in 2023Zambia: 4.1 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationSouth Africa: 63.8% in 2025Zambia: 45.9% in 2025
- Median ageSouth Africa: 28.2 years in 2023Zambia: 17.5 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overSouth Africa: 6.5% in 2023Zambia: 1.9% in 2023
- Net migration rateSouth Africa: 3.6 per 1,000 people in 2023Zambia: 0.5 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingSouth Africa: 0.74% of GDP in 2025Zambia: 1.26% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsSouth Africa: $3B in 2025Zambia: $343M in 2025
- Military spending per personSouth Africa: $49 in 2025Zambia: $19 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingSouth Africa: 2.2% of government spending in 2025Zambia: 4.5% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelSouth Africa: 89,000 people in 2020Zambia: 16,000 people in 2020
- National powerSouth Africa: 0.55% of world capability in 2022Zambia: 0.1% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersSouth Africa: 0.4% of the labour force in 2020Zambia: 0.24% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsSouth Africa: 30 million TIV in 2025Zambia: 1 million TIV in 2024
- Arms exportsSouth Africa: 115 million TIV in 2025Zambia: 2 million TIV in 1990