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Topic 07 of 18 · Country Index 2026

Zambia: Environment & Sustainability

How much pressure does a country put on the natural world?

Zambia is placed 48th of 181 countries on environment & sustainability in the Country Index 2026, from 3 of its 3 key statistics. Readings behind it: CO₂ Emissions per Capita 0.565 (2024); Water Stress 8.62 (2023).

Environment & Sustainability

48th

of 181 countries placed

Placed from 3 of 3 key statistics

Country Index 2026, all topics128th of 178 →

01The evidence

The 3 key statistics that decide it

Only these place Zambia on environment & sustainability — one vote each. Every value is the publisher’s own, read at the edition the Country Index 2026 used; the grey ticks are every other country it was compared with, lowest on the left.

Why these keys

  1. Key 1 of 3

    CO₂ Emissions per Capita

    Global Carbon Project

    Why it is a key: How much carbon dioxide a country's own fuel burning puts into the air for each person living there.

    2024 edition · data for 2024 · CC BY 4.0

    0.565

    Fossil CO₂ (tonnes per person)

    Lower is better

    Zambia: 0.565. Across the 210 countries in this edition, values run from 0.054 (DR Congo) to 41.27 (Qatar); the world median is 3.21.

    World median
    3.21
    Best in Eastern Africa
    0.065 Burundi
    Land neighbours
    Angola 0.589 · DR Congo 0.054 · Mozambique 0.249 · Malawi 0.087 · Namibia 1.145 · Tanzania 0.292 · Zimbabwe 0.824

    Each grey tick is one of 210 countries in the 2024 edition.

  2. Key 2 of 3

    Water Stress

    Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

    Why it is a key: Whether a country withdraws more freshwater than nature replaces: the one pressure in this subject a country creates for itself rather than faces.

    2023 edition · data for 2023 · CC BY 4.0

    8.62

    Freshwater withdrawal as a share of available resources (%)

    Lower is better

    Zambia: 8.62. Across the 177 countries in this edition, values run from 0.03 (Republic of the Congo) to 3,851 (Kuwait); the world median is 10.

    World median
    10
    Best in Eastern Africa
    0.83 Comoros
    Land neighbours
    Angola 1.87 · DR Congo 0.23 · Mozambique 1.75 · Malawi 4.11 · Namibia 0.31 · Tanzania 12.96 · Zimbabwe 46.09

    Each grey tick is one of 177 countries in the 2023 edition.

  3. Key 3 of 3

    Ecological Footprint

    Global Footprint Network

    Why it is a key: How much of the planet's biological capacity a country's own consumption uses up.

    2025 edition · data for 2025 · CC BY-SA 4.0

    1.109

    Ecological Footprint (global hectares per person)

    Lower is better

    Zambia: 1.109. Across the 126 countries in this edition, values run from 0.514 (Yemen) to 11.73 (Qatar); the world median is 2.296.

    World median
    2.296
    Best in Eastern Africa
    0.588 Mozambique
    Land neighbours
    Angola 0.707 · DR Congo 0.647 · Mozambique 0.588 · Malawi 0.782 · Tanzania 0.967 · Zimbabwe 1.242

    Each grey tick is one of 126 countries in the 2025 edition.

03In context

Zambia beside its neighbours

A position reads best beside the countries around it. Every position below is a place among all 181 countries on environment & sustainability, never a place within the region.

Eastern Africa
1st181stNot placed · 43 countries with too few key statisticsNo data

The whole world on environment & sustainability

Zambia and the countries it borders

The standing is each country’s place among all 181 placed on the topic; the other columns are the publishers’ own values, read at the edition the standing used.

CountryStandingCO₂ Emissions per CapitaFossil CO₂ (tonnes per person)Water StressFreshwater withdrawal as a share of available resources (%)Ecological FootprintEcological Footprint (global hectares per person)
DR Congo1st0.0540.230.647
Mozambique2nd0.2491.750.588
Malawi6th0.0874.110.782
Angola7th0.5891.870.707
Namibia14th1.1450.31—
Tanzania44th0.29212.960.967
Zambia48th0.5658.621.109
Zimbabwe=73rd0.82446.091.242

“—” means the publisher gives no reading for that country in that edition. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed.

Placed either side on environment & sustainability

The countries immediately above and below Zambia in the topic’s list.

04Context, no vote

Where Zambia is ahead of the world, and behind

23 more statistics filed under environment & sustainability, published in full and deliberately given no vote in the standing. Select a row for the publisher, the rank and the links.

Every country

Ahead of the world median6

Statistics on which Zambia does better than the middle country measured.

  • Renewable Share of Electricity GenerationEmber · 2024 · world median 31.1487.47▼ Worsened since 2014

    Zambia: 87.47 · world median 31.14 · Renewables (% of electricity generated). Ember, 2024 edition, data for 2024.

    Published values in that edition run from 0 to 100; higher is better.

    Position 23rd of 190 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2024 dataset

  • Low-Carbon Share of Electricity GenerationEmber · 2024 · world median 35.6687.47▼ Worsened since 2014

    Zambia: 87.47 · world median 35.66 · Low-carbon sources (% of electricity generated). Ember, 2024 edition, data for 2024.

    Published values in that edition run from 0 to 100; higher is better.

    Position 28th of 190 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2024 dataset

  • Carbon Intensity of ElectricityEmber · 2024 · world median 468.81125.76▼ Worsened since 2014

    Zambia: 125.76 · world median 468.81 · Carbon intensity (gCO₂e per kWh generated). Ember, 2024 edition, data for 2024.

    Published values in that edition run from 23.49 to 1,306; lower is better.

    Position 162nd of 193 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2024 dataset

  • World Risk IndexInstitute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict (IFHV), Ruhr University Bochum · 2025 · world median 4.172.94No real change since 2015

    Zambia: 2.94 · world median 4.17 · WorldRiskIndex score (0–100, where 100 is the most at risk). Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict (IFHV), Ruhr University Bochum, 2025 edition, data for 2025.

    Published values in that edition run from 0.18 to 46.56; lower is better.

    Position 124th of 193 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2025 dataset

  • Renewable Internal Freshwater Resources per CapitaFAO · 2022 · world median 2,5283,980▼ Worsened since 2012

    Zambia: 3,980 · world median 2,528 · Renewable internal freshwater (cubic metres per person). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2022 edition, data for 2022.

    Published values in that edition run from 0 to 445,023; higher is better.

    Position 70th of 181 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2022 dataset

  • Energy Intensity of GDP (PPP)EIA · 2024 · world median 2.7382.414▼ Worsened since 2014

    Zambia: 2.414 · world median 2.738 · Energy use per dollar of GDP (thousand Btu per US$ at PPP). U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), 2024 edition, data for 2024.

    Published values in that edition run from 0.666 to 17.45; lower is better.

    Chart and every countryThe 2024 dataset

Behind the world median7

Statistics on which Zambia does worse than the middle country measured.

  • Climate Vulnerability (ND-GAIN)Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame · 2024 · world median 0.450.492No real change since 2014

    Zambia: 0.492 · world median 0.45 · ND-GAIN Vulnerability (0–1, where 1 is the most vulnerable). Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame, 2024 edition, data for 2024.

    Published values in that edition run from 0.263 to 0.655; lower is better.

    Ranked 134th of 190 by Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame.

    Chart and every countryThe 2024 dataset

  • Planetary pressures-adjusted HDIUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 0.6780.585No real change since 2013

    Zambia: 0.585 · world median 0.678 · PHDI (0–1). UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 0.276 to 0.827; higher is better.

    Position 111th of 156 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

  • Organic Agricultural AreaFAO · 2024 · world median 0.7250.14▲ Improved since 2014

    Zambia: 0.14 · world median 0.725 · Organic share of agricultural land (%). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2024 edition, data for 2024.

    Published values in that edition run from 0 to 86.38; higher is better.

    Position 116th of 150 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2024 dataset

  • Wind and Solar Share of Electricity GenerationEmber · 2024 · world median 5.7690.862▲ Improved since 2014

    Zambia: 0.862 · world median 5.769 · Wind and solar (% of electricity generated). Ember, 2024 edition, data for 2024.

    Published values in that edition run from 0 to 69.12; higher is better.

    Chart and every countryThe 2024 dataset

  • ND-GAIN Country IndexNotre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame · 2024 · world median 47.4439.1▼ Worsened since 2014

    Zambia: 39.1 · world median 47.44 · ND-GAIN Index (0–100, where 100 is best placed to adapt). Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame, 2024 edition, data for 2024.

    Published values in that edition run from 26.42 to 71.85; higher is better.

    Ranked 149th of 190 by Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame.

    Chart and every countryThe 2024 dataset

  • Internal Displacements by DisasterIDMC · 2024 · world median 4,750169,000▼ Worsened since 2014

    Zambia: 169,000 · world median 4,750 · New displacements by disaster (people). Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), 2024 edition, data for 2024.

    Published values in that edition run from 1 to 11,001,000; lower is better.

    Position 24th of 160 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2024 dataset

  • World Energy Trilemma IndexWorld Energy Council · 2023 · world median 63.841.8No earlier reading

    Zambia: 41.8 · world median 63.8 · Trilemma score (0–100). World Energy Council, 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 27.7 to 83.2; higher is better.

    Ranked 88th of 99 by World Energy Council.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

No better end10

These describe the shape of a country — more is not better or worse, only different — so they are never ahead or behind.

  • Total Natural Resources Rents (% of GDP)World Bank Group · 2021 · world median 1.70835.26Moved since 2011

    Zambia: 35.26 · world median 1.708 · Natural resources rents (% of GDP). World Bank Group, 2021 edition, data for 2021.

    Published values in that edition run from 0 to 61.03.

    Position 5th of 180 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2021 dataset

  • Forest AreaFAO · 2023 · world median 31.0859.52No real change since 2013

    Zambia: 59.52 · world median 31.08 · Forest area (% of land area). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 0 to 94.45.

    Position 28th of 210 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

  • Agricultural EmissionsFAO · 2023 · world median 8,63538,667No real change since 2013

    Zambia: 38,667 · world median 8,635 · Farm-gate emissions (kt CO₂eq). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 0 to 1,044,508.

    Position 43rd of 193 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

  • Arable Land per PersonFAO · 2023 · world median 0.1090.183Moved since 2013

    Zambia: 0.183 · world median 0.109 · Arable land (hectares per person). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 0 to 1.459.

    Position 69th of 206 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

  • Land Under Cereal ProductionFAO · 2023 · world median 689,2781,561,098Moved since 2013

    Zambia: 1,561,098 · world median 689,278 · Land under cereal production (hectares). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 0 to 103,715,108.

    Position 63rd of 179 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

  • Water Withdrawal by SectorFAO · 2022 · world median 62.1473.28No real change since 2012

    Zambia: 73.28 · world median 62.14 · Freshwater withdrawn for agriculture (% of total). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2022 edition, data for 2022.

    Published values in that edition run from 0 to 99.48.

    Position 67th of 171 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2022 dataset

  • Fertilizer Consumption per HectareFAO · 2023 · world median 87.3677.27Moved since 2013

    Zambia: 77.27 · world median 87.36 · Fertilizer consumption (kg per hectare of arable land). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 0 to 2,926.

    Position 101st of 188 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

  • Agricultural LandFAO · 2023 · world median 37.9632.07No real change since 2013

    Zambia: 32.07 · world median 37.96 · Agricultural land (% of land area). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 0.445 to 86.48.

    Position 119th of 209 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

  • Pesticide Use per HectareFAO · 2024 · world median 1.731.09Moved since 2014

    Zambia: 1.09 · world median 1.73 · Pesticide use (kg per hectare of cropland). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2024 edition, data for 2024.

    Published values in that edition run from 0 to 37.72.

    Position 110th of 178 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2024 dataset

  • Livestock DensityFAO · 2023 · world median 0.5350.14Moved since 2013

    Zambia: 0.14 · world median 0.535 · Livestock units per hectare of agricultural land. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 0.02 to 43.97.

    Position 165th of 188 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

No current reading for Zambia

Adjusted Net Savings (last 2020) and Agricultural Irrigated Land. Listed rather than hidden, so the page can be checked against it.

05Country Index 2026

Environment & Sustainability among Zambia’s 15 topics

Environment & Sustainability is Zambia’s best-placed topic of 15. Strongest first; each marker sits at the position divided by that topic’s field, so fields of different sizes compare fairly.

On the profile
  1. Environment & Sustainability48th of 181
  2. Energyjoint 70th of 193
  3. Digital & Technology91st of 198
  4. Democracy & Civil Liberties106th of 198
  5. Peace & Security99th of 177
  6. Gender & Equality106th of 183
  7. Governance & Institutions113th of 194
  8. Food & Agriculture108th of 175
  9. Risk & Resilience123rd of 192
  10. Education & Knowledge123rd of 171
  11. Development & Human Capital142nd of 196
  12. Economy & Innovation140th of 176
  13. Health & Wellbeing173rd of 200
  14. Work & Labour163rd of 182
  15. Poverty & Inequality159th of 159

No standing on Mobility & Trade: too few of those topics’ key statistics are published for this country.

06The top of the list

Who leads on environment & sustainability

The three countries placed highest of 181, and the leaders Zambia can most readily be measured against.

All 181 countries
  1. 1

    DR Congo

    Middle Africa

    1st of 181 · 3 of 3 keys

    Photo: Christina Bergey derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale

  2. 2

    Mozambique

    Eastern Africa

    2nd of 181 · 3 of 3 keys

    Photo: Stig Nygaard derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY 2.0, greyscale

  3. 3

    Guinea-Bissau

    Western Africa

    3rd of 181 · 2 of 3 keys

    Photo: (WT-en) Pis bus at English Wikivoyage · Public domain, greyscale

Placed highest nearby

  1. Highest in Africa

    DR Congo1st3/3 keys

  2. Highest in Eastern Africa

    Mozambique2nd3/3 keys

  3. This page

    Zambia48th3/3 keys

Positions out of 181 placed on the topic. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed, and the top of the list is often held on fewer of them.

07Questions

Zambia on environment & sustainability: questions answered

Every answer is built from the numbers on this page, so none can say something the page does not.

How does Zambia rank on environment & sustainability?

Zambia is placed 48th of 181 countries on Environment & Sustainability in the Country Index 2026, from 3 of its 3 key statistics (CO₂ Emissions per Capita, Water Stress and Ecological Footprint). The position is this site’s ordering of published statistics, not a rank any publisher printed.

What is the latest CO₂ Emissions per Capita figure for Zambia?

0.565 in 2024 (fossil CO₂ (tonnes per person)), according to Global Carbon Project. The world median in the same edition was 3.21.

What is the latest Water Stress figure for Zambia?

8.62 in 2023 (freshwater withdrawal as a share of available resources (%)), according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The world median in the same edition was 10.

How does Zambia compare with DR Congo on environment & sustainability?

DR Congo is placed 1st of 181, and Zambia 48th. CO₂ Emissions per Capita: DR Congo 0.054, Zambia 0.565; Water Stress: DR Congo 0.23, Zambia 8.62; Ecological Footprint: DR Congo 0.647, Zambia 1.109.

How have Zambia’s environment & sustainability figures changed?

CO₂ Emissions per Capita rose from 0.178 in 2000 to 0.565 in 2024; Water Stress rose from 3.28 in 2000 to 8.62 in 2023; Ecological Footprint fell from 1.27 in 2000 to 1.109 in 2025.

Which environment & sustainability statistics are missing for Zambia?

No current reading is published for Zambia on Adjusted Net Savings and Agricultural Irrigated Land. They are listed rather than hidden, so the evidence on the page can be checked against it.

08Keep reading

Explore further

Environment & Sustainability

Zambia, topic by topic

09Method

Method, sources and how to cite

What this topic does not measure

Air quality and biodiversity are not keys, because the site does not yet hold data for them that passes every test. Forest cover, farmland, organic farming, farm emissions and the renewable share of electricity are published here as context. Exposure to natural hazards belongs to Risk & Resilience.

About environment & sustainability, in full

How the Environment & Sustainability standing is decided, step by step

A standing is a place in a list, not a mark out of anything. This one is part of the Country Index 2026, and it is worked out like this.

  1. A few key indicators decide it; the rest are context. 3 indicators on this topic are keys and 25 are charted alongside them without a vote. That split is the point: if every statistic voted, importing five more of one kind would quietly change what the topic is about.
  2. Each key is read at one edition. ⚠ The keys behind this standing do not all describe the same year — they run from 2023 to 2025, because publishers release on their own schedules. Read the standing as “how this country places now”, not as a snapshot of one year.
  3. Every country’s published value is turned into a place within that one key’s own field, and then expressed as a share of that field — how far down this key’s list the country sits, rather than how many countries are above it. Keys where a higher published number is worse (terrorism, hunger, disaster risk) are turned round first, so the good end is always the same end.
  4. Dividing by the field first is the whole reason this works. A place carries the size of its list inside it: 22nd of 44 and 108th of 215 are the same showing, and averaging the numbers 22 and 108 says loudly that they are not. Fields on this site run from about 44 countries to about 215, so averaging raw places would reward a country for happening to be measured in small ones. Dividing each place by its own field removes the size and leaves only the showing.
  5. The shares are averaged, plainly. One key, one vote — no key is weighted above another, because any weighting would be this site’s opinion presented as a measurement. Countries are then put in order by that average, and the average itself is never published. It is our arithmetic with nothing anchoring it, so printing it would invite it to be read as a measurement somebody made. The position it produces, the band, and the keys it was built from are all published instead — every one of them checkable against the tables on this page.
  6. A country needs 2 of this topic’s 3 keys — half, rounded up, and never fewer than 2. A standing built from one reading, printed beside one built from four, is two different things sharing a column heading. 181 countries clear the bar here.
  7. A key has to earn its vote every edition. It must measure at least 120 countries (below that it starts measuring who was surveyed rather than the world), it must not have more than 10% of its field tied at either end, and it must not repeat another key in the same topic — Spearman correlation above 0.92 counts as repeating. A topic needs at least 2 surviving keys to place anyone at all; this one has 3.
  8. A standing is relative, and the grouping is ours. It says where a country places against the others measured alongside it, so it moves when they move. The publishers listed on this page did not agree to be read together, and each measures its subject its own way: the underlying numbers are theirs, the ordering on top is this site’s — the same method as the rest of the Country Index, applied to one subject instead of all of them.

The key statistics and their licences

The other 23 statistics on this page come from 9 publishers, each named beside its numbers, with every edition and licence on the datasets pages.

The standing itself is part of the Country Index 2026, published under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Photographs

Zambia’s banner and the countries placed highest, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.

Cite this page

Nations Inquiry (2026). Zambia: Environment & Sustainability — standing and statistics, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/countries/zambia/environment

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