Total factor productivity in Zambia
Zambia: Total factor productivity was 1.06 in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
1.06
Change on year
up 2.2%
World rank
7th
of 120 countries
All-time high
1.31
in 2012
All-time low
0.6829
in 1979
Years of data
65
1959–2023
Total factor productivity in Zambia, 1959–2023
Source: Feenstra et al. – Penn World Table (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for total factor productivity in Zambia is 1.06, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of up 2.2% on the previous year and down 17.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, total factor productivity in Zambia peaked at 1.31 in 2012 and was at its lowest, 0.6829, in 1979.
Zambia ranks 7th of 120 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 65 years of available data.
Total factor productivity in Zambia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1959 | 0.6917 | — |
| 1960 | 0.6997 | +1.2% |
| 1961 | 0.6968 | -0.4% |
| 1962 | 0.6856 | -1.6% |
| 1963 | 0.6997 | +2.1% |
| 1964 | 0.7589 | +8.5% |
| 1965 | 0.8159 | +7.5% |
| 1966 | 0.8825 | +8.2% |
| 1967 | 0.9814 | +11.2% |
| 1968 | 0.9649 | -1.7% |
| 1969 | 0.857 | -11.2% |
| 1970 | 0.8231 | -4.0% |
| 1971 | 0.7893 | -4.1% |
| 1972 | 0.826 | +4.6% |
| 1973 | 0.779 | -5.7% |
| 1974 | 0.78 | +0.1% |
| 1975 | 0.7528 | -3.5% |
| 1976 | 0.7614 | +1.1% |
| 1977 | 0.73 | -4.1% |
| 1978 | 0.7145 | -2.1% |
| 1979 | 0.6829 | -4.4% |
| 1980 | 0.7019 | +2.8% |
| 1981 | 0.6858 | -2.3% |
| 1982 | 0.6997 | +2.0% |
| 1983 | 0.7165 | +2.4% |
| 1984 | 0.7077 | -1.2% |
| 1985 | 0.7027 | -0.7% |
| 1986 | 0.7253 | +3.2% |
| 1987 | 0.7419 | +2.3% |
| 1988 | 0.7549 | +1.8% |
| 1989 | 0.7633 | +1.1% |
| 1990 | 0.7715 | +1.1% |
| 1991 | 0.7625 | -1.2% |
| 1992 | 0.7588 | -0.5% |
| 1993 | 0.8063 | +6.3% |
| 1994 | 0.7379 | -8.5% |
| 1995 | 0.7604 | +3.0% |
| 1996 | 0.7974 | +4.9% |
| 1997 | 0.8266 | +3.7% |
| 1998 | 0.8194 | -0.9% |
| 1999 | 0.8458 | +3.2% |
| 2000 | 0.8582 | +1.5% |
| 2001 | 0.8813 | +2.7% |
| 2002 | 0.8972 | +1.8% |
| 2003 | 0.9274 | +3.4% |
| 2004 | 0.9616 | +3.7% |
| 2005 | 0.9988 | +3.9% |
| 2006 | 1.04 | +4.2% |
| 2007 | 1.09 | +4.4% |
| 2008 | 1.13 | +3.5% |
| 2009 | 1.19 | +5.6% |
| 2010 | 1.27 | +7.0% |
| 2011 | 1.27 | +0.2% |
| 2012 | 1.31 | +2.8% |
| 2013 | 1.28 | -1.9% |
| 2014 | 1.25 | -2.7% |
| 2015 | 1.18 | -5.5% |
| 2016 | 1.14 | -3.3% |
| 2017 | 1.11 | -2.6% |
| 2018 | 1.11 | -0.5% |
| 2019 | 1.04 | -5.9% |
| 2020 | 0.9815 | -5.8% |
| 2021 | 1 | +1.9% |
| 2022 | 1.04 | +3.8% |
| 2023 | 1.06 | +2.2% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 1.06 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.9979, 1.1× the median. (26 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 1.06 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.983, 1.1× the median. (27 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 0.6917 | 0.6917 | 0.6917 | 1 |
| 1960s | 0.8042 | 0.6856 | 0.9814 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.7639 | 0.6829 | 0.826 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.72 | 0.6858 | 0.7633 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.7887 | 0.7379 | 0.8458 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.9966 | 0.8582 | 1.19 | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.2 | 1.04 | 1.31 | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.02 | 0.9815 | 1.06 | 4 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More economy & growth data for Zambia
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 2.31 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 4.92 Percent per annum (2029)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), gaps 310.54 million BoP, current US$ (2024)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), per unit 0.0123 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), per capita 14.57 BoP, current US$ per person (2024)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), gaps filled 2.36 billion BoP, current US$ (2024)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), annual 268.02 % change on previous year (2024)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), per unit 0.0932 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), per capita 110.69 BoP, current US$ per person (2024)
- Total reserves (includes gold, current US$), annual growth rate 28.89 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is total factor productivity in Zambia?
- Total factor productivity in Zambia was 1.06 in 2023, according to Feenstra et al. – Penn World Table (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest total factor productivity recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 1.31 in 2012.
- What is the lowest total factor productivity recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.6829 in 1979.
- How does Zambia rank for total factor productivity?
- Zambia ranks 7th out of 120 countries with data for 2023.
- Is total factor productivity rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 17.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zambia data come from?
- The figures come from Feenstra et al. – Penn World Table (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Total factor productivity. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
This is the level of total factor productivity, relative to each country's value in 2021 (which is set to 1). This data is adjusted for inflation and differences in living costs between countries.