Political Rights Rating in Zambia
Zambia: Political Rights Rating was 4 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
4
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
79th
of 199 countries
All-time high
6
in 1988
All-time low
2
in 1991
Years of data
53
1972–2025
Political Rights Rating in Zambia, 1972–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, political rights rating in Zambia stood at 4.
That represents a change of up 33.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, political rights rating in Zambia peaked at 6 in 1988 and was at its lowest, 2, in 1991.
That places Zambia 79th out of 199 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 53 years of available data.
Political Rights Rating in Zambia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 5 | — |
| 1973 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 6 | +20.0% |
| 1989 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 2 | -66.7% |
| 1992 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 3 | +50.0% |
| 1994 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 5 | +66.7% |
| 1997 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 4 | -20.0% |
| 2003 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 3 | -25.0% |
| 2007 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 4 | +33.3% |
| 2017 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 4 | +0.0% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 4 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 5, 80% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 4 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 6, 67% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 5 | 5 | 5 | 8 |
| 1980s | 5.22 | 5 | 6 | 9 |
| 1990s | 3.9 | 2 | 6 | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.8 | 3 | 5 | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.4 | 3 | 4 | 10 |
| 2020s | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
- 79 Armenia 4 compare
- 79 Benin 4 compare
- 79 Gambia 4 compare
- 79 Georgia 4 compare
- 79 Guatemala 4 compare
- 79 Honduras 4 compare
- 79 Kenya 4 compare
- 79 Malaysia 4 compare
- 79 Maldives 4 compare
- 79 Nigeria 4 compare
- 79 Papua New Guinea 4 compare
- 79 Serbia 4 compare
- 79 Sierra Leone 4 compare
- 79 Singapore 4 compare
- 79 Ukraine 4 compare
More social development data for Zambia
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 83,225 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 346 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 4 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 346 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0038 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 4.98 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is political rights rating in Zambia?
- Political rights rating in Zambia was 4 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest political rights rating recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 6 in 1988.
- What is the lowest political rights rating recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 2 in 1991.
- How does Zambia rank for political rights rating?
- Zambia ranks 79th out of 199 countries with data for 2025.
- Is political rights rating rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 33.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Zambia data come from?
- The figures come from Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Political Rights Rating. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 53 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Identifies the extent of free and fair elections, political pluralism and participation, and a functioning government. Lower ratings indicate more rights.