Lakes and rivers seasonal water area in Zambia
Zambia: Lakes and rivers seasonal water area was 0.9% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Latest (2022)
0.9%
Change on year
up 8.4%
World rank
41st
of 221 countries
All-time high
0.9%
in 2022
All-time low
0.2%
in 2000
Years of data
23
2000–2022
Lakes and rivers seasonal water area in Zambia, 2000–2022
Source: United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
Analysis
Zambia recorded 0.9% for lakes and rivers seasonal water area in 2022. That is the highest value across all 23 years on record.
That represents a change of up 8.4% on the previous year and up 32.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, lakes and rivers seasonal water area in Zambia peaked at 0.9% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 0.2%, in 2000.
Zambia ranks 41st of 221 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.
Lakes and rivers seasonal water area in Zambia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 0.2% | — |
| 2001 | 0.2% | +10.3% |
| 2002 | 0.4% | +45.3% |
| 2003 | 0.4% | +9.4% |
| 2004 | 0.4% | +7.2% |
| 2005 | 0.5% | +18.2% |
| 2006 | 0.5% | +1.3% |
| 2007 | 0.5% | -5.2% |
| 2008 | 0.5% | +14.7% |
| 2009 | 0.6% | +3.1% |
| 2010 | 0.6% | +6.4% |
| 2011 | 0.7% | +13.5% |
| 2012 | 0.7% | +3.6% |
| 2013 | 0.7% | -2.4% |
| 2014 | 0.7% | -2.2% |
| 2015 | 0.7% | +1.5% |
| 2016 | 0.6% | -9.8% |
| 2017 | 0.6% | +2.2% |
| 2018 | 0.7% | +10.0% |
| 2019 | 0.8% | +16.0% |
| 2020 | 0.7% | -7.6% |
| 2021 | 0.9% | +16.3% |
| 2022 | 0.9% | +8.4% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 0.9% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.3%, 3.0× the median. (42 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 0.9% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.3%, 3.6× the median. (44 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 0.4% | 0.2% | 0.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.8% | 0.7% | 0.9% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
- 38 Guinea-Bissau 1.0% compare
- 39 Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) 1.0% compare
- 40 Azerbaijan 0.9% compare
- 42 Naoero 0.9% compare
- 43 China 0.8% compare
- 44 Marshall Islands 0.8% compare
More environment data for Zambia
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -2.98 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -3.03 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.265 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.11 °C (2025)
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Export quantity, gaps filled 13,758 t (2023)
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Agricultural Use, gaps filled 206,414 t (2024)
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Agricultural Use, annual growth rate -11.06 % change on previous year (2024)
- Nutrient phosphate P2O5 (total) — Import quantity, gaps filled 52,326 t (2023)
- Nutrient phosphate P2O5 (total) — Import quantity, annual growth rate 25.3 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is lakes and rivers seasonal water area in Zambia?
- Lakes and rivers seasonal water area in Zambia was 0.9% in 2022, according to United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
- What is the highest lakes and rivers seasonal water area recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 0.9% in 2022.
- What is the lowest lakes and rivers seasonal water area recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2% in 2000.
- How does Zambia rank for lakes and rivers seasonal water area?
- Zambia ranks 41st out of 221 countries with data for 2022.
- Is lakes and rivers seasonal water area rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 32.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zambia data come from?
- The figures come from United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database, published as part of Lakes and rivers seasonal water area (% of total land area). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 23 observations, free to reuse under UN SDG Global Database (open, attribution requested).