Economy
Economic overview:
Despite continuing progress in privatization and budgetary reform, Zambia's economy is showing little improvement. Inflation, while slowing somewhat, continues to be a major concern to the CHILUBA government. Four of Zambia's 20 banks collapsed in 1995, and the nation's debt stood at about $7 billion. Zambia's copper mining sector, which accounts for over 80% of the nation's foreign currency intake, is struggling. Production rates are down as are world copper prices. Food production is insufficient to meet the country's needs due to previous droughts and an end to government subsidization of agriculture. While the government's economic program aims for 6% growth in each of the next three years, a growth rate of 3-5% is more likely.
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $8.9 billion (1995 est.)
GDP real growth rate:
NA%
GDP per capita:
$900 (1995 est.)
GDP composition by sector:
agriculture:
32%
industry:
22%
services:
46% (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
55% (1994 est.)
Labor force:
3.4 million
by occupation:
agriculture 85%, mining, manufacturing, and construction 6%, transport and services 9%
Unemployment rate:
22% (1991)
Budget:
revenues:
$665 million
expenditures:
$767 million, including capital expenditures of $300 million (1991 est.)
Industries:
copper mining and processing, construction, foodstuffs, beverages, chemicals, textiles, fertilizer
Industrial production growth rate:
-1% (1992)
Electricity:
capacity:
2,440,000 kW
production:
7.8 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
650 kWh (1993)
Agriculture:
corn, sorghum, rice, peanuts, sunflower seed, tobacco, cotton, sugarcane, cassava (tapioca); cattle, goats, beef, eggs
Illicit drugs:
increasingly a regional transshipment center for methaqualone and heroin
Exports:
$1.075 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
commodities:
copper, zinc, cobalt, lead, tobacco
partners:
EU countries, Japan, South Africa, US, India, Thailand, Malaysia
Imports:
$845 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
commodities:
machinery, transportation equipment, foodstuffs, fuels, manufactures
partners:
EU countries, Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, US
External debt:
$7 billion (1995 est.)
Economic aid:
recipient:
ODA, $734 million (1993)
Currency:
1 Zambian kwacha (ZK) = 100 ngwee
Exchange rates:
Zambian kwacha (ZK) per US$1 - 909.09 (December 1995), 833.33 (1995), 769.23 (1994), 434.78 (1993), 156.25 (1992), 61.7284 (1991)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
