Tanzania vs Zambia
Tanzania vs Zambia: Government debt
Government debt: 47.8% of GDP in Tanzania in 2023 and 100.6% of GDP in Zambia in 2025, by IMF estimates. In 2023 the value was higher in Zambia, by 89 percentage points, or 2.86 times that in Tanzania.
% of GDP · IMF
What the numbers say
- Zambia has been higher since 2015, when it overtook Tanzania.
- The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts Tanzania at 41.4% of GDP and Zambia at 56.7% of GDP in 2031.
Every year
% of GDP · IMF
| Year | Tanzania | Zambia |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 49.8 | 100.6 |
| 2024 | 50 | 125.5 |
| 2023 | 47.8 | 136.8 |
| 2022 | 44.9 | 99.5 |
| 2021 | 43.4 | 111 |
| 2020 | 41.3 | 140 |
| 2019 | 40.4 | 103.3 |
| 2018 | 42 | 81.2 |
| 2017 | 40.1 | 66.6 |
| 2016 | 39.8 | 61.2 |
| 2015 | 39.5 | 61.9 |
| 2014 | 36.4 | 33.9 |
| 2013 | 32.7 | 25.9 |
| 2012 | 30.1 | 24.9 |
| 2011 | 28.4 | 20.8 |
| 2010 | 27.6 | 18.9 |
| 2009 | 23.9 | 20.5 |
| 2008 | 21.6 | 19.2 |
| 2007 | 23.8 | 21.9 |
| 2006 | 34.5 | 25 |
| 2005 | 46.1 | 75.8 |
| 2004 | 44.5 | 129.9 |
| 2003 | 44.4 | 159.5 |
| 2002 | 47.4 | 180.2 |
| 2001 | 50.8 | 210.2 |
| 2000 | – | 261 |
- 12.3Projected
IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) · 2026–2031
| Year | Tanzania | Zambia |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 48.1 | 82.1 |
| 2027 | 46.6 | 77 |
| 2028 | 45.2 | 72.3 |
| 2029 | 43.9 | 67.2 |
| 2030 | 42.9 | 61.9 |
| 2031 | 41.4 | 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
Tanzania vs Zambia
Health
- Life expectancyTanzania: 67 years in 2023Zambia: 66.4 years in 2023
- Child mortalityTanzania: 3.7 per 100 live births in 2024Zambia: 4.8 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityTanzania: 28.9 per 1,000 live births in 2023Zambia: 38.2 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- DepressionTanzania: 3.69% in 2017Zambia: 3.64% in 2017
- Suicide rateTanzania: 8.8 per 100,000 people in 2017Zambia: 13.1 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationTanzania: 66.6 million people in 2023Zambia: 20.7 million people in 2023
- Population growthTanzania: 2.88% a year in 2023Zambia: 2.83% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateTanzania: 4.61 births per woman in 2023Zambia: 4.1 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationTanzania: 36.9% in 2025Zambia: 45.9% in 2025
- Median ageTanzania: 17.2 years in 2023Zambia: 17.5 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overTanzania: 3% in 2023Zambia: 1.9% in 2023
- Net migration rateTanzania: -0.6 per 1,000 people in 2023Zambia: 0.5 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingTanzania: 1.16% of GDP in 2025Zambia: 1.26% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsTanzania: $983M in 2025Zambia: $343M in 2025
- Military spending per personTanzania: $15 in 2025Zambia: $19 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingTanzania: 5.8% of government spending in 2025Zambia: 4.5% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelTanzania: 28,000 people in 2020Zambia: 16,000 people in 2020
- National powerTanzania: 0.25% of world capability in 2022Zambia: 0.1% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersTanzania: 0.1% of the labour force in 2020Zambia: 0.24% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsTanzania: 4 million TIV in 2025Zambia: 1 million TIV in 2024