Southern Africa
Zambia
EU Compliance · Geopolitical Risk · Sourcing Attractiveness
Market-entry intelligence →Why these scores
EU Compliance, by dimension
1 = lowest risk · methodology & sources
Geopolitical Risk, by dimension
1 = lowest risk · methodology & sources
Attractiveness, by dimension
9 = most attractive · methodology & sources
Analyst scores, last reviewed June 2026; each dimension's sources and cadence are on its methodology page.
Data layers
The EU is Zambia's #3 import source (world lens). Zambia is the EU's #133 goods supplier.
Zambia on the world stage
Total imports
$11.3bn
2024 annual
Total exports
$11.3bn
186 partners
#1 import source
South Africa
25.7%
#1 export dest.
Switzerland
42.5%
2024 annual, UN Comtrade (HS TOTAL, all partners). Line colour: coverage (exports/imports per partner).
Zambia and the EU
EU imports from
€355m
0.0% of extra-EU
EU exports to
€429m
0.0% of extra-EU
EU supplier rank
EU's #133 supplier
EU trade balance
balanced or surplus
coverage 1.21
2025 annual totals, Eurostat COMEXT. EU trade board →
Electricity & grid
National sources · carbon from Ember
Industrial
86
EUR/MWh
Consumer
15
EUR/MWh, all-in
Grid carbon
111
gCO₂e/kWh
Renewables
87%
of generation
regulated market
Power market
● Conflict / governance collapseMarket model
Single buyer (ZESCO)
Direct PPA
Limited
grid access: closed
Reserve margin
–
Regulator
Independent
ERB (Energy Regulation Board)
Near-total hydro dependence (83%) combined with record-low Kariba dam levels during the 2024 El Nino drought caused 20-hour daily load-shedding in 2024-2025, a national economic crisis.
Tracked infrastructure
3 coal plants
330 MW · 2 building
4 solar farms
185 MW · 2 building
5 hydro plants
4.1 GW
2 coal mines
capacity n/a
Operating assets tracked by Global Energy Monitor (CC BY 4.0); counts are tracked facilities, not exhaustive totals. Energy overview →
Metal mining
Tagged mines
33
6 production-backed
Acid-drainage prone
30
high water-risk ore class
Main commodities
Copper, Iron, Gold
Mine-water verifiability
Blind spot
ZEMA regulates but is under-resourced; no open data
Water risk is inferred from the ore class, not site measurements. Global mines: full layer →
Demographics
UN World Population Prospects 2024 · medium variant
Median age
17.7
→ 23.6 by 2050
Fertility
4.04
above replacement
Working-age
56.6%
aged 15–64
Old-age dep.
3.4
→ 7.6 by 2050
Median age 1990–2050
Population 21.3M · still growing past 2100
By 2050: +79% (38.1M)