Self-employed, male (% of male employment) in Zambia
Zambia: Self-employed, male (% of male employment) was 64.5% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Self-employed, male (% of male employment) in Zambia, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
In 2025, self-employed, male (% of male employment) in Zambia stood at 64.5%. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.6% on the previous year and down 2.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, self-employed, male (% of male employment) in Zambia peaked at 77.7% in 2005 and was at its lowest, 64.5%, in 2025.
That places Zambia 30th out of 187 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Self-employed, male (% of male employment) in Zambia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 74.5% | — |
| 1992 | 74.6% | +0.1% |
| 1993 | 74.6% | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 74.9% | +0.4% |
| 1995 | 75.1% | +0.4% |
| 1996 | 75.3% | +0.2% |
| 1997 | 75.4% | +0.1% |
| 1998 | 75.6% | +0.3% |
| 1999 | 75.7% | +0.2% |
| 2000 | 75.8% | +0.1% |
| 2001 | 76.3% | +0.7% |
| 2002 | 76.7% | +0.5% |
| 2003 | 77.0% | +0.5% |
| 2004 | 77.3% | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 77.7% | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 77.4% | -0.5% |
| 2007 | 77.0% | -0.5% |
| 2008 | 76.7% | -0.5% |
| 2009 | 74.7% | -2.5% |
| 2010 | 72.8% | -2.6% |
| 2011 | 73.0% | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 73.3% | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 70.4% | -4.0% |
| 2014 | 68.0% | -3.4% |
| 2015 | 66.2% | -2.7% |
| 2016 | 65.9% | -0.4% |
| 2017 | 65.7% | -0.3% |
| 2018 | 65.4% | -0.4% |
| 2019 | 67.1% | +2.6% |
| 2020 | 68.5% | +2.0% |
| 2021 | 65.6% | -4.2% |
| 2022 | 66.5% | +1.4% |
| 2023 | 65.1% | -2.0% |
| 2024 | 64.9% | -0.4% |
| 2025 | 64.5% | -0.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 75.1% | 74.5% | 75.7% | 9 |
| 2000s | 76.7% | 74.7% | 77.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 68.8% | 65.4% | 73.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 65.8% | 64.5% | 68.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
- 27 Angola 66.5% compare
- 28 Guinea-Bissau 66.2% compare
- 29 Myanmar 65.7% compare
- 31 Congo 64.5% compare
- 32 Côte d'Ivoire 63.4% compare
- 33 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 63.3% 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, male (% of male employment) in Zambia?
- Self-employed, male (% of male employment) in Zambia was 64.5% in 2025, according to ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest self-employed, male (% of male employment) recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 77.7% in 2005.
- What is the lowest self-employed, male (% of male employment) recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 64.5% in 2025.
- How does Zambia rank for self-employed, male (% of male employment)?
- Zambia ranks 30th out of 187 countries with data for 2025.
- Is self-employed, male (% of male employment) rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.5%. 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, male (% of male 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.