African Tax Observatory · Country brief · ZambiaData pulled 14 October 2026 · taxintellilyticsstories.com/africa/countries/ZMB

Centre 13°27′S 27°48′E

Gazetteer · Southern Africa · Lower middle income

Zambia

Collected 18.0% of GDP in tax in 2024, 11 of 38 reporting members.

18.0%

Tax, % of GDP, 2024

+3.8

Points since 2010

1.44

Tax buoyancy

over 16 years

$800

Tax per person

PPP dollars

Plate I·Over time

Fifteen years, against the continent

Over time

Zambia against the continent

Measure

ZambiaSouthern Africa medianATAF median and middle half

The shaded band is the middle half of ATAF members each year (25th to 75th percentile); the dashed line is the median of Southern Africa. The members reporting change from year to year, so the band can move because the set of countries changed; the CSV gives the count for each year.

Show the numbers as a table

Year	Zambia	Southern Africa median	ATAF median	ATAF 25th percentile	ATAF 75th percentile	Members reporting
2010	14.21	15.60	14.34	10.67	16.43	26
2011	14.84	15.19	14.84	10.99	16.62	33
2012	16.14	16.25	15.07	11.45	16.75	33
2013	16.00	15.43	13.83	11.23	16.89	32
2014	16.58	15.31	14.26	11.87	17.13	32
2015	16.28	15.87	15.08	12.33	18.55	33
2016	14.38	14.57	14.38	12.40	17.43	33
2017	15.83	15.89	14.75	11.50	16.95	35
2018	17.36	16.83	14.18	10.86	16.10	36
2019	17.80	17.80	13.57	11.51	17.23	38
2020	16.20	16.20	13.27	10.85	16.07	38
2021	19.59	15.74	12.72	10.44	16.06	40
2022	18.21	18.21	14.18	11.34	18.16	39
2023	21.25	20.06	14.43	11.30	18.82	37
2024	18.02	18.92	14.30	12.17	18.05	38
2025	22.14	19.51	13.74	12.18	20.53	34

Plate II·Peers, 2024

Each tax beside the medians

Against its peers, 2024

Each tax as a share of GDP, beside the medians

The line joins Zambia (orange) to the ATAF median (grey); the blue tick is the Southern Africa median. All three are for 2024.

Show the numbers as a table

Measure	Zambia	Southern Africa median	ATAF median
Tax-to-GDP	18.02	18.92	14.30
Domestic taxes	11.25	13.03	9.01
Customs taxes	6.77	4.70	4.87
Non-tax revenue	1.83	2.88	2.59
VAT	8.85	7.29	5.20
PIT	3.76	4.12	2.04
CIT	3.02	3.28	2.72

Plate III·Tax heads

How Zambia's tax is made up

Tax heads

What each tax brings in, as a share of GDP

Domestic VATPersonal income taxCorporate income taxWithholding taxPresumptive taxOther domestic taxesVAT on importsImport dutyExcise on importsOther customs taxes

Each bar stacks the tax heads ATAF publishes for that year. Where the heads do not add up to total tax revenue, the gap is drawn in light grey and labelled, never spread across the heads. A head missing from a year was not reported for that year.

Show the numbers as a table

Year	Tax head	Revenue (PPP $)	% of GDP
2010	Domestic VAT	1609472136	3.72
2010	Personal income tax	1720318624	3.98
2010	Corporate income tax	1077540701	2.49
2010	Withholding tax	267772224	0.62
2010	Presumptive tax	109013285	0.25
2010	Other domestic taxes	183320299	0.42
2010	VAT on imports	1176720542	2.72
2010	Import duty	561796626	1.30
2010	Excise on imports	175395701	0.41
2010	Other customs taxes	209127526	0.48
2011	Domestic VAT	1511320251	3.21
2011	Personal income tax	1847367428	3.92
2011	Corporate income tax	1489404987	3.16
2011	Withholding tax	288565063	0.61
2011	Presumptive tax	12291802	0.03
2011	Other domestic taxes	354814889	0.75
2011	VAT on imports	1633987967	3.47
2011	Import duty	710365569	1.51
2011	Excise on imports	208652791	0.44
2011	Other customs taxes	1839478	0.00
2012	Domestic VAT	1776382407	3.67
2012	Personal income tax	1860843295	3.84
2012	Corporate income tax	1660284470	3.43
2012	Withholding tax	340913796	0.70
2012	Presumptive tax	13207661	0.03
2012	Other domestic taxes	550105498	1.14
2012	VAT on imports	1897347279	3.92
2012	Import duty	766436579	1.58
2012	Excise on imports	288190164	0.60
2012	Other customs taxes	1357726	0.00
2013	Domestic VAT	1893341535	3.71
2013	Personal income tax	2025750668	3.97
2013	Corporate income tax	1006847798	1.97
2013	Withholding tax	432703761	0.85
2013	Presumptive tax	18753120	0.04
2013	Other domestic taxes	621536796	1.22
2013	VAT on imports	2180940620	4.27
2013	Import duty	638364627	1.25
2013	Excise on imports	403337801	0.79
2013	Other customs taxes	4393988	0.01
2014	Domestic VAT	2115479528	3.89
2014	Personal income tax	2096971919	3.86
2014	Corporate income tax	1137997142	2.09
2014	Withholding tax	480264800	0.88
2014	Presumptive tax	23394506	0.04
2014	Other domestic taxes	576504608	1.06
2014	VAT on imports	2087102722	3.84
2014	Import duty	635891541	1.17
2014	Excise on imports	272498679	0.50
2014	Other customs taxes	7373924	0.01
2015	Domestic VAT	2246665883	4.12
2015	Personal income tax	2211247596	4.05
2015	Corporate income tax	845520709	1.55
2015	Withholding tax	710844292	1.30
2015	Presumptive tax	22308156	0.04
2015	Other domestic taxes	1113652419	2.04
2015	VAT on imports	1991356749	3.65
2015	Import duty	564943850	1.03
2015	Excise on imports	377067242	0.69
2015	Other customs taxes	8179886	0.01
2016	Domestic VAT	1954901126	3.50
2016	Personal income tax	2103100974	3.76
2016	Corporate income tax	1042531775	1.86
2016	Withholding tax	682275583	1.22
2016	Presumptive tax	23228674	0.04
2016	Other domestic taxes	800202120	1.43
2016	VAT on imports	2022209491	3.62
2016	Import duty	495201304	0.89
2016	Excise on imports	461973760	0.83
2016	Other customs taxes	9089681	0.02
2017	Domestic VAT	2907724148	4.96
2017	Personal income tax	2067796403	3.53
2017	Corporate income tax	1062826013	1.81
2017	Withholding tax	779717829	1.33
2017	Other domestic taxes	596973200	1.02
2017	VAT on imports	1969310356	3.36
2017	Import duty	699005844	1.19
2017	Excise on imports	260435532	0.44
2017	Other customs taxes	3272830	0.01
2018	Domestic VAT	3522967454	5.54
2018	Personal income tax	2370891163	3.73
2018	Corporate income tax	1358347440	2.14
2018	Withholding tax	864147314	1.36
2018	Presumptive tax	2469860	0.00
2018	Other domestic taxes	1104671858	1.74
2018	VAT on imports	2468273502	3.88
2018	Import duty	714915611	1.13
2018	Excise on imports	147988302	0.23
2018	Other customs taxes	138302852	0.22
2019	Domestic VAT	3472937946	5.43
2019	Personal income tax	2499969089	3.91
2019	Corporate income tax	1664846687	2.60
2019	Withholding tax	979128627	1.53
2019	Other domestic taxes	1095626893	1.71
2019	VAT on imports	2286979022	3.57
2019	Import duty	749392790	1.17
2019	Excise on imports	169755986	0.27
2019	Other customs taxes	210391514	0.33
2020	Domestic VAT	3077190099	4.53
2020	Personal income tax	2725476198	4.01
2020	Corporate income tax	1822050342	2.68
2020	Withholding tax	1052382108	1.55
2020	Other domestic taxes	1144532996	1.69
2020	VAT on imports	2127802343	3.13
2020	Import duty	652365465	0.96
2020	Excise on imports	223132560	0.33
2020	Other customs taxes	210966375	0.31
2021	Domestic VAT	2945928774	4.40
2021	Personal income tax	2348647168	3.51
2021	Corporate income tax	3057667809	4.57
2021	Withholding tax	1258141557	1.88
2021	Other domestic taxes	2025648844	3.03
2021	VAT on imports	1947663884	2.91
2021	Import duty	808025186	1.21
2021	Excise on imports	221543952	0.33
2021	Other customs taxes	46801038	0.07
2022	Domestic VAT	3405125335	4.46
2022	Personal income tax	2797166291	3.66
2022	Corporate income tax	3245425196	4.25
2022	Withholding tax	1251120513	1.64
2022	Other domestic taxes	1760124557	2.31
2022	VAT on imports	2270076577	2.97
2022	Import duty	845896225	1.11
2022	Excise on imports	317338168	0.42
2022	Other customs taxes	30566535	0.04
2023	Domestic VAT	4332789684	4.66
2023	Personal income tax	3260092760	3.51
2023	Corporate income tax	2492209858	2.68
2023	Withholding tax	1696060598	1.83
2023	Other domestic taxes	4789926555	5.16
2023	VAT on imports	3840387634	4.13
2023	Import duty	1057241028	1.14
2023	Excise on imports	399310194	0.43
2023	Other customs taxes	49344135	0.05
2024	Domestic VAT	3893275818	4.12
2024	Personal income tax	3556845983	3.76
2024	Corporate income tax	2860849544	3.02
2024	Withholding tax	1982145985	2.10
2024	Other domestic taxes	276871352	0.29
2024	VAT on imports	4473105279	4.73
2024	Import duty	1207482814	1.28
2024	Excise on imports	421311306	0.45
2024	Other customs taxes	301607935	0.32
2025	Domestic VAT	3744987286	3.90
2025	Personal income tax	4137327220	4.31
2025	Corporate income tax	4503080454	4.69
2025	Withholding tax	2286789786	2.38
2025	Other domestic taxes	2512357003	2.62
2025	VAT on imports	4328196972	4.51
2025	Import duty	1465666058	1.53
2025	Excise on imports	444482446	0.46
2025	Other customs taxes	396139707	0.41

The mix in 2024

Every shilling, franc or rand of tax, by head

Rectangle areas are proportional to revenue in 2024 (US dollars at purchasing-power parity). Total tax revenue: $17.0bn.

Show the numbers as a table

Tax head	Revenue (PPP $)	Share of tax revenue
Domestic VAT	3893275818	0.23
Personal income tax	3556845983	0.21
Corporate income tax	2860849544	0.17
Withholding tax	1982145985	0.12
Other domestic taxes	276871352	0.02
VAT on imports	4473105279	0.26
Import duty	1207482814	0.07
Excise on imports	421311306	0.02
Other customs taxes	301607935	0.02

Every published number

Zambia in the ATAF Databank

All 23 freely available indicators, exactly as ATAF publishes them. A blank cell means ATAF has no figure for that year; nothing is filled in.

Zambia: ATAF Databank indicators by year
Indicator	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Nominal GDP (PPP)	$43.3bn	$47.2bn	$48.4bn	$51.1bn	$54.3bn	$54.6bn	$55.9bn	$58.6bn	$63.5bn	$64.0bn	$67.9bn	$66.9bn	$76.3bn	$92.9bn	$94.6bn	$96.0bn
Real GDP	97,215.9m	103,377.9m	110,335.8m	117,743.1m	124,866.4m	125,882.2m	130,162.2m	134,998.2m	139,203.4m	141,701.0m	137,427.6m	144,090.0m	154,026.4m	162,235.3m	168,432.8m	174,761.8m
Final Consumption (PPP)	$27.67tn	$30.77tn	$31.99tn	$34.39tn	$36.39tn	$35.64tn	$37.60tn	$35.7bn		$38.7bn	$33.8bn	$34.7bn	$38.1bn	$56.1bn	$57.4bn
Total Tax Revenues (PPP)	$6.1bn	$7.0bn	$7.8bn	$8.2bn	$9.0bn	$8.9bn	$8.0bn	$9.3bn	$11.0bn	$11.4bn	$11.0bn	$13.1bn	$13.9bn	$19.7bn	$17.0bn	$21.2bn
Total Number Of Registered Taxpayers								297k	594k	265k	313k	348k		536k		536k
Non-Tax-Revenues (PPP)		$355.1m	$550.7m	$622.0m	$577.1m	$1.1bn	$1.8bn	$1.6bn	$1.7bn	$2.0bn	$1.9bn	$3.0bn	$1.7bn	$1.4bn	$1.7bn	$2.4bn
Domestic Tax Revenues (PPP)	$4.0bn	$4.4bn	$4.9bn	$4.9bn	$6.0bn	$5.9bn	$5.1bn	$6.3bn	$7.6bn	$8.0bn	$7.8bn	$10.1bn	$10.4bn	$14.4bn	$10.6bn	$14.6bn
Customs Tax Revenues (PPP)	$2.1bn	$2.6bn	$3.0bn	$3.2bn	$3.0bn	$2.9bn	$3.0bn	$2.9bn	$3.5bn	$3.4bn	$3.2bn	$3.0bn	$3.5bn	$5.3bn	$6.4bn	$6.6bn
Revenue From Agriculture, Forest & Fishing (PPP)							$138.1m	$173.5m	$135.3m	$144.3m	$179.9m	$5.8m			$394.8m	$410.7m
Revenue From Mining & Quarrying (PPP)	$1.0bn	$2.4bn	$2.0bn	$1.5bn	$1.6bn	$1.9bn	$2.0bn	$2.5bn	$4.0bn	$4.2bn	$4.9bn	$4.0bn	$1.6bn		$6.0bn	$7.4bn
Revenue From Secondary Sector (PPP)								$1.5bn	$1.5bn	$1.5bn					$3.3bn	$3.6bn
Revenue From Tertiary Sector (PPP)								$5.1bn	$5.2bn	$4.6bn					$11.6bn	$13.1bn
Domestic VAT Revenues (PPP)	$1.6bn	$1.5bn	$1.8bn	$1.9bn	$2.1bn	$2.2bn	$2.0bn	$2.9bn	$3.5bn	$3.5bn	$3.1bn	$2.9bn	$3.4bn	$4.3bn	$3.9bn	$3.7bn
VAT Refunded (PPP)	$1.4bn	$1.5bn	$1.9bn	$1.5bn	$1.1bn	$1.8bn	$1.9bn	$1.6bn	$2.0bn	$2.2bn	$2.4bn	$1.9bn	$2.5bn	$2.7bn	$2.5bn	$3.2bn
PIT Revenues (PPP)	$1.7bn	$1.8bn	$1.9bn	$2.0bn	$2.1bn	$2.2bn	$2.1bn	$2.1bn	$2.4bn	$2.5bn	$2.7bn	$2.3bn	$2.8bn	$3.3bn	$3.6bn	$4.1bn
CIT Revenues (PPP)	$1.1bn	$1.5bn	$1.7bn	$1.0bn	$1.1bn	$845.5m	$1.0bn	$1.1bn	$1.4bn	$1.7bn	$1.8bn	$3.1bn	$3.2bn	$2.5bn	$2.9bn	$4.5bn
Withholding Tax Revenues (PPP)	$267.8m	$288.6m	$340.9m	$432.7m	$480.3m	$710.8m	$682.3m	$779.7m	$864.1m	$979.1m	$1.1bn	$1.3bn	$1.3bn	$1.7bn	$2.0bn	$2.3bn
Presumptive Tax Revenues (PPP)	$109.0m	$12.3m	$13.2m	$18.8m	$23.4m	$22.3m	$23.2m		$2.5m
Other Domestic Tax Revenues (PPP)	$183.3m	$354.8m	$550.1m	$621.5m	$576.5m	$1.1bn	$800.2m	$597.0m	$1.1bn	$1.1bn	$1.1bn	$2.0bn	$1.8bn	$4.8bn	$276.9m	$2.5bn
VAT On Import Revenues (PPP)	$1.2bn	$1.6bn	$1.9bn	$2.2bn	$2.1bn	$2.0bn	$2.0bn	$2.0bn	$2.5bn	$2.3bn	$2.1bn	$1.9bn	$2.3bn	$3.8bn	$4.5bn	$4.3bn
Import Duty Revenues (PPP)	$561.8m	$710.4m	$766.4m	$638.4m	$635.9m	$564.9m	$495.2m	$699.0m	$714.9m	$749.4m	$652.4m	$808.0m	$845.9m	$1.1bn	$1.2bn	$1.5bn
Excises on Imports Revenues (PPP)	$175.4m	$208.7m	$288.2m	$403.3m	$272.5m	$377.1m	$462.0m	$260.4m	$148.0m	$169.8m	$223.1m	$221.5m	$317.3m	$399.3m	$421.3m	$444.5m
Other Customs Tax Revenues (PPP)	$209.1m	$1.8m	$1.4m	$4.4m	$7.4m	$8.2m	$9.1m	$3.3m	$138.3m	$210.4m	$211.0m	$46.8m	$30.6m	$49.3m	$301.6m	$396.1m

Values are rounded for display; the CSV has them exactly as published. Revenue and GDP are US dollars at purchasing-power parity.

Data-quality checks

What the automatic checks found

These are rule-based checks, run on every pull. A flag says the numbers deserve a second look, not that they are wrong; the methods page explains each rule.

Year	Check	Detail
2010	Domestic heads do not add up	The six domestic tax heads sum to 123% of reported domestic tax revenue.
2011	Domestic heads do not add up	The six domestic tax heads sum to 124% of reported domestic tax revenue.
2012	Domestic heads do not add up	The six domestic tax heads sum to 128% of reported domestic tax revenue.
2013	Domestic heads do not add up	The six domestic tax heads sum to 121% of reported domestic tax revenue.
2015	Domestic heads do not add up	The six domestic tax heads sum to 120% of reported domestic tax revenue.
2016	Domestic heads do not add up	The six domestic tax heads sum to 131% of reported domestic tax revenue.
2018	Domestic heads do not add up	The six domestic tax heads sum to 122% of reported domestic tax revenue.

Source: ATAF Databank, the African Tax Administration Forum; World Bank World Development Indicators. Tax and GDP are in US dollars at purchasing-power parity, so their ratio equals the ratio in local currency. Cite as: Kaijamahe, W. H. (2026). Zambia. In African Tax Observatory (Edition 1, October 2026) [Data set and atlas]. TaxIntellilytics Stories. https://www.taxintellilyticsstories.com/africa/countries/ZMB Every figure and its method: taxintellilyticsstories.com/africa/methods

Cite this sheet

Zambia, in Edition 1

Kaijamahe, W. H. (2026). Zambia. In African Tax Observatory (Edition 1, October 2026) [Data set and atlas]. TaxIntellilytics Stories. https://www.taxintellilyticsstories.com/africa/countries/ZMB

Southern Africa

Neighbouring profiles

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