Zambia vs Zimbabwe

Zambia vs Zimbabwe: Government debt

Government debt in 2025: 100.6% of GDP in Zambia and 38% of GDP in Zimbabwe, by IMF estimates. In 2025 the value was higher in Zambia, by 62.6 percentage points, or 2.65 times that in Zimbabwe.

Watch it change on the map

% of GDP · IMF

Zambia vs Zimbabwe: Government debtGovernment debt in 2025: 100.6% of GDP in Zambia and 38% of GDP in Zimbabwe, by IMF estimates. In 2025 the value was higher in Zambia, by 62.6 percentage points, or 2.65 times that in Zimbabwe.
ZambiaZimbabweIMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026)

What the numbers say

  • Zambia has been higher since 2014, when it overtook Zimbabwe.
  • In 2025, Zambia ranked 13 and Zimbabwe ranked 111 of 149 countries, counting from the highest.
  • The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts Zambia at 56.7% of GDP and Zimbabwe at 25.7% of GDP in 2031.

Every year

% of GDP · IMF

YearZambiaZimbabwe
2025100.638
2024125.570.4
2023136.876.1
202299.566.8
202111139.9
202014056.8
2019103.353.9
201881.233
201766.649
201661.235.1
201561.934.1
201433.929.2
201325.926.4
201224.927.2
201120.830
201018.933.2
200920.539.7
200819.241.3
200721.930.2
20062526.7
200575.822.4
2004129.9–
2003159.5–
2002180.2–
2001210.2–
2000261–
IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) · 2026–2031
YearZambiaZimbabwe
202682.133.5
20277730.6
202872.330.2
202967.228.2
203061.926.7
203156.725.7

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

Zambia vs Zimbabwe

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