Self-employed, female (% of female employment) in Zambia
Zambia: Self-employed, female (% of female employment) was 80.1% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Self-employed, female (% of female employment) in Zambia, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
Zambia recorded 80.1% for self-employed, female (% of female employment) in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.4% on the previous year and down 6.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, self-employed, female (% of female employment) in Zambia peaked at 94.2% in 2005 and was at its lowest, 80.1%, in 2025.
Zambia ranks 31st of 187 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Self-employed, female (% of female employment) in Zambia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 93.4% | — |
| 1992 | 93.4% | -0.1% |
| 1993 | 93.3% | -0.0% |
| 1994 | 93.3% | -0.0% |
| 1995 | 93.3% | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 93.3% | -0.0% |
| 1997 | 93.3% | -0.0% |
| 1998 | 93.4% | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 93.4% | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 93.4% | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 93.6% | +0.2% |
| 2002 | 93.8% | +0.2% |
| 2003 | 93.9% | +0.2% |
| 2004 | 94.0% | +0.1% |
| 2005 | 94.2% | +0.2% |
| 2006 | 94.1% | -0.1% |
| 2007 | 94.0% | -0.1% |
| 2008 | 93.9% | -0.1% |
| 2009 | 93.1% | -0.9% |
| 2010 | 92.2% | -0.9% |
| 2011 | 92.3% | +0.1% |
| 2012 | 92.4% | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 90.3% | -2.3% |
| 2014 | 88.0% | -2.5% |
| 2015 | 85.7% | -2.7% |
| 2016 | 85.4% | -0.4% |
| 2017 | 85.1% | -0.3% |
| 2018 | 84.7% | -0.4% |
| 2019 | 83.4% | -1.6% |
| 2020 | 83.6% | +0.3% |
| 2021 | 82.7% | -1.2% |
| 2022 | 82.6% | -0.0% |
| 2023 | 80.7% | -2.4% |
| 2024 | 80.4% | -0.3% |
| 2025 | 80.1% | -0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 93.4% | 93.3% | 93.4% | 9 |
| 2000s | 93.8% | 93.1% | 94.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 88.0% | 83.4% | 92.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 81.7% | 80.1% | 83.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
- 28 Lao People's Democratic Republic 81.8% compare
- 29 Mali 81.6% compare
- 30 Côte d'Ivoire 80.9% compare
- 32 Timor-Leste 79.8% compare
- 33 Solomon Islands 79.6% compare
- 34 India 78.8% compare
More work & labour data for Zambia
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual 0.5254 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth 0.5224 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth 0.5281 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate 0.7611 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 3.24 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 25,577 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 15,424 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 32,895 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 31,579 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 64,474 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is self-employed, female (% of female employment) in Zambia?
- Self-employed, female (% of female employment) in Zambia was 80.1% in 2025, according to ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest self-employed, female (% of female employment) recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 94.2% in 2005.
- What is the lowest self-employed, female (% of female employment) recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 80.1% in 2025.
- How does Zambia rank for self-employed, female (% of female employment)?
- Zambia ranks 31st out of 187 countries with data for 2025.
- Is self-employed, female (% of female employment) rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Zambia data come from?
- The figures come from ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Self-employed, female (% of female employment) (modeled ILO estimate). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Self-employed workers are those workers who, working on their own account or with one or a few partners or in cooperative, hold the type of jobs defined as a "self-employment jobs." i.e. jobs where the remuneration is directly dependent upon the profits derived from the goods and services produced. Self-employed workers include sub-categories of employers, own-account workers and members of producers' cooperatives and contributing family workers.