Migration trends in Zambia

1995

• Malawi replaced Zimbabwe as the main destination for those leaving
• An accelerating exodus — the diaspora grew by 57%
• The diaspora passed 100K people

2000

• A surge of arrivals — the foreign-born population jumped 45%

2005

• Immigration from Angola declined sharply — 139.6K fewer migrants from there
• The gap between arrivals and departures was cut in half

2010

• The country became a place of departure — more people leaving than arriving
• Immigration contracted — the foreign-born population fell 42%

2015

• The outflow deepened — net losses doubled to 12K

2020

• DR Congo overtook Angola as the largest source of new arrivals
• Zimbabwe replaced Malawi as the main destination for those leaving
• The country became a destination — more people arriving than leaving
• A surge of arrivals — the foreign-born population jumped 43%

Today

• Net migration doubled — the surplus reached 98.3K
• Since 1990: roughly the same number of foreign-born residents and roughly the same number of emigrants