Migration trends in Zambia
Africa
221.1K people from around the world have made Zambia their home. That's 1.0% of the country population, arriving from 29 different countries
21.3M
Population
221.1K
Immigrants
122.8K
Emigrants
+98.3K
Inflow
Immigrants make up 1.0% of the population in Zambia
The #107 largest immigrant destination worldwide
Top corridors
The largest migration routes in Zambia
Where people move to
Key moments
How migration has changed since 1990
1990
270.3K immigrants · 73.9K emigrants
1995
- Malawi replaced Zimbabwe as the main destination for those leaving
- An accelerating exodus — the diaspora abroad grew by 57%
- The diaspora abroad 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 annual surplus reached 98.3K
- Since 1990: roughly the same number of foreign-born residents and roughly the same number of citizens living abroad