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Political Corruption Index in Zambia

Zambia: Political Corruption Index was 0.428 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
0.428
Change on year
up 21.9%
World rank
96th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.584
in 1992
All-time low
0.032
in 1911
Years of data
115
1911–2025

Political Corruption Index in Zambia, 1911–2025

00.20.40.6191119682025

Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

Zambia recorded 0.428 for political corruption index in 2025.

That represents a change of up 21.9% on the previous year and up 45.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, political corruption index in Zambia peaked at 0.584 in 1992 and was at its lowest, 0.032, in 1911.

Zambia ranks 96th of 176 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.

Political Corruption Index in Zambia, year by year

Year Value Change
1911 0.032 —
1912 0.032 +0.0%
1913 0.032 +0.0%
1914 0.032 +0.0%
1915 0.032 +0.0%
1916 0.032 +0.0%
1917 0.032 +0.0%
1918 0.032 +0.0%
1919 0.032 +0.0%
1920 0.032 +0.0%
1921 0.032 +0.0%
1922 0.032 +0.0%
1923 0.036 +12.5%
1924 0.059 +63.9%
1925 0.059 +0.0%
1926 0.052 -11.9%
1927 0.052 +0.0%
1928 0.052 +0.0%
1929 0.052 +0.0%
1930 0.052 +0.0%
1931 0.052 +0.0%
1932 0.052 +0.0%
1933 0.052 +0.0%
1934 0.052 +0.0%
1935 0.052 +0.0%
1936 0.052 +0.0%
1937 0.052 +0.0%
1938 0.052 +0.0%
1939 0.052 +0.0%
1940 0.052 +0.0%
1941 0.052 +0.0%
1942 0.052 +0.0%
1943 0.052 +0.0%
1944 0.052 +0.0%
1945 0.052 +0.0%
1946 0.052 +0.0%
1947 0.052 +0.0%
1948 0.052 +0.0%
1949 0.052 +0.0%
1950 0.052 +0.0%
1951 0.052 +0.0%
1952 0.047 -9.6%
1953 0.038 -19.1%
1954 0.038 +0.0%
1955 0.038 +0.0%
1956 0.038 +0.0%
1957 0.038 +0.0%
1958 0.038 +0.0%
1959 0.038 +0.0%
1960 0.038 +0.0%
1961 0.038 +0.0%
1962 0.038 +0.0%
1963 0.038 +0.0%
1964 0.17 +347.4%
1965 0.168 -1.2%
1966 0.168 +0.0%
1967 0.168 +0.0%
1968 0.168 +0.0%
1969 0.168 +0.0%
1970 0.168 +0.0%
1971 0.168 +0.0%
1972 0.168 +0.0%
1973 0.177 +5.4%
1974 0.21 +18.6%
1975 0.21 +0.0%
1976 0.21 +0.0%
1977 0.21 +0.0%
1978 0.21 +0.0%
1979 0.21 +0.0%
1980 0.21 +0.0%
1981 0.21 +0.0%
1982 0.21 +0.0%
1983 0.21 +0.0%
1984 0.21 +0.0%
1985 0.21 +0.0%
1986 0.21 +0.0%
1987 0.21 +0.0%
1988 0.21 +0.0%
1989 0.21 +0.0%
1990 0.224 +6.7%
1991 0.45 +100.9%
1992 0.584 +29.8%
1993 0.584 +0.0%
1994 0.584 +0.0%
1995 0.584 +0.0%
1996 0.584 +0.0%
1997 0.584 +0.0%
1998 0.575 -1.5%
1999 0.49 -14.8%
2000 0.49 +0.0%
2001 0.454 -7.3%
2002 0.263 -42.1%
2003 0.263 +0.0%
2004 0.263 +0.0%
2005 0.203 -22.8%
2006 0.203 +0.0%
2007 0.198 -2.5%
2008 0.341 +72.2%
2009 0.378 +10.9%
2010 0.349 -7.7%
2011 0.308 -11.7%
2012 0.205 -33.4%
2013 0.256 +24.9%
2014 0.256 +0.0%
2015 0.294 +14.8%
2016 0.319 +8.5%
2017 0.367 +15.0%
2018 0.437 +19.1%
2019 0.537 +22.9%
2020 0.435 -19.0%
2021 0.464 +6.7%
2022 0.375 -19.2%
2023 0.32 -14.7%
2024 0.351 +9.7%
2025 0.428 +21.9%

Zambia compared with similar countries

  • Zambia's 0.428 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.7175, 60% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
  • Zambia's 0.428 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.6615, 65% of the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1910s 0.032 0.032 0.032 9
1920s 0.0458 0.032 0.059 10
1930s 0.052 0.052 0.052 10
1940s 0.052 0.052 0.052 10
1950s 0.0417 0.038 0.052 10
1960s 0.1162 0.038 0.17 10
1970s 0.1941 0.168 0.21 10
1980s 0.21 0.21 0.21 10
1990s 0.5243 0.224 0.584 10
2000s 0.3056 0.198 0.49 10
2010s 0.3328 0.205 0.537 10
2020s 0.3955 0.32 0.464 6

Countries ranked near Zambia

  1. 94 Vietnam 0.466 compare
  2. 95 Montenegro 0.43 compare
  3. 97 Brazil 0.423 compare
  4. 98 Jordan 0.422 compare
  5. 99 Romania 0.419 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More social development data for Zambia

All data for Zambia →

Frequently asked questions

What is political corruption index in Zambia?
Political corruption index in Zambia was 0.428 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest political corruption index recorded in Zambia?
The highest recorded value was 0.584 in 1992.
What is the lowest political corruption index recorded in Zambia?
The lowest recorded value was 0.032 in 1911.
How does Zambia rank for political corruption index?
Zambia ranks 96th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is political corruption index rising or falling in Zambia?
Over the last ten years it is up 45.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Zambia data come from?
The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Political Corruption Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Political Corruption Index in Zambia. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 08 November 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/political-corruption-index/zambia/

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About this data

Indicator
Political Corruption Index
Source
V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
176 places, 25,295 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed

Central estimate of the extent to which a country is affected by political corruption.