Outdoor air pollution exposure in Zambia
Zambia: Outdoor air pollution exposure was 25.4 in 2024. ▲ Rising
Outdoor air pollution exposure in Zambia, 1998–2024
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
Zambia recorded 25.4 for outdoor air pollution exposure in 2024. That is the highest value across all 27 years on record.
That represents a change of up 5.4% on the previous year and up 20.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, outdoor air pollution exposure in Zambia peaked at 25.4 in 2024 and was at its lowest, 11.6, in 1999.
Zambia ranks 58th of 241 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 27 years of available data.
Outdoor air pollution exposure in Zambia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 13.6 | — |
| 1999 | 11.6 | -14.7% |
| 2000 | 18.4 | +58.6% |
| 2001 | 23.7 | +28.8% |
| 2002 | 21.5 | -9.3% |
| 2003 | 20.6 | -4.2% |
| 2004 | 20.7 | +0.5% |
| 2005 | 22.9 | +10.6% |
| 2006 | 20 | -12.7% |
| 2007 | 22.3 | +11.5% |
| 2008 | 22.9 | +2.7% |
| 2009 | 20.5 | -10.5% |
| 2010 | 22.6 | +10.2% |
| 2011 | 22.7 | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 22.6 | -0.4% |
| 2013 | 21.7 | -4.0% |
| 2014 | 21.1 | -2.8% |
| 2015 | 22 | +4.3% |
| 2016 | 20 | -9.1% |
| 2017 | 19.6 | -2.0% |
| 2018 | 20.4 | +4.1% |
| 2019 | 20.9 | +2.5% |
| 2020 | 19.3 | -7.7% |
| 2021 | 20.1 | +4.1% |
| 2022 | 24.7 | +22.9% |
| 2023 | 24.1 | -2.4% |
| 2024 | 25.4 | +5.4% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 25.4 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 24.7, 1.0× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 25.4 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 25.2, 1.0× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Outdoor air pollution exposure in Zambia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | +58.6% | 11.6 | 18.4 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 12.6 | 11.6 | 13.6 | 2 |
| 2000s | 21.35 | 18.4 | 23.7 | 10 |
| 2010s | 21.36 | 19.6 | 22.7 | 10 |
| 2020s | 22.72 | 19.3 | 25.4 | 5 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More environment data for Zambia
- Grazing land use over the long-term, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per unit of GDP 0.0007 hectares per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per capita 0.9127 hectares per person (2025)
- 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)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per square kilometre 26.9 hectares per square kilometre (2024)
- Sawnwood, coniferous — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is outdoor air pollution exposure in Zambia?
- Outdoor air pollution exposure in Zambia was 25.4 in 2024, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest outdoor air pollution exposure recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 25.4 in 2024.
- What is the lowest outdoor air pollution exposure recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.6 in 1999.
- How does Zambia rank for outdoor air pollution exposure?
- Zambia ranks 58th out of 241 countries with data for 2024.
- Is outdoor air pollution exposure rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 20.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zambia data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Outdoor air pollution exposure. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 27 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).