Share of global plastic waste imports in Zambia
Zambia: Share of global plastic waste imports was 0.0% in 2023. ◆ Volatile
Share of global plastic waste imports in Zambia, 1995–2023
Source: United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of global plastic waste imports in Zambia is 0.0%, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.
That represents a change of up 219.4% on the previous year and up 1,770.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of global plastic waste imports in Zambia peaked at 0.0% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1996.
Zambia ranks 84th of 183 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Share of global plastic waste imports in Zambia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 0.0% | — |
| 1996 | 0.0% | -100.0% |
| 1997 | 0.0% | — |
| 1998 | 0.0% | -65.4% |
| 1999 | 0.0% | +20.4% |
| 2000 | 0.0% | -98.6% |
| 2001 | 0.0% | +4855.4% |
| 2002 | 0.0% | +13.8% |
| 2003 | 0.0% | -65.6% |
| 2004 | 0.0% | +156.8% |
| 2005 | 0.0% | -85.5% |
| 2006 | 0.0% | +117.1% |
| 2007 | 0.0% | +649.3% |
| 2008 | 0.0% | +224.6% |
| 2009 | 0.0% | -65.1% |
| 2010 | 0.0% | -64.1% |
| 2011 | 0.0% | +111.6% |
| 2012 | 0.0% | -92.9% |
| 2013 | 0.0% | +1112.3% |
| 2014 | 0.0% | -100.0% |
| 2015 | 0.0% | — |
| 2016 | 0.0% | +60.3% |
| 2017 | 0.0% | +149.1% |
| 2018 | 0.0% | -40.1% |
| 2019 | 0.0% | +181.8% |
| 2020 | 0.0% | -64.3% |
| 2021 | 0.0% | +760.3% |
| 2023 | 0.0% | +219.4% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 0.0% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.0%, 1.8× the median. (45 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 0.0% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.0%, 4.8× the median. (41 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of global plastic waste imports 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | +4855.4% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2013 | +1112.3% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 5 |
| 2000s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
- 81 Togo 0.0% compare
- 82 Tanzania 0.0% compare
- 83 Sierra Leone 0.0% compare
- 85 Rwanda 0.0% compare
- 86 Democratic Republic of Congo 0.0% compare
- 87 Solomon Islands 0.0% 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)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.74 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate 3.49 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of global plastic waste imports in Zambia?
- Share of global plastic waste imports in Zambia was 0.0% in 2023, according to United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of global plastic waste imports recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 0.0% in 2023.
- What is the lowest share of global plastic waste imports recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1996.
- How does Zambia rank for share of global plastic waste imports?
- Zambia ranks 84th out of 183 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of global plastic waste imports rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1,770.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Zambia data come from?
- The figures come from United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of global plastic waste imports. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Percentage of global plastic waste imports that a country accounts for.