A combination of drought and low copper prices saw Zambia’s economic performance deteriorate in 2019.As the second-largest copper producer in Africa after the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia is dependent on the metal for 75% of export earnings.Lower production saw gross domestic product (GDP) growth drop to 1.5% in 2019, from 4% in 2018.The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts that growth in 2020 will be negative (-5%), due to the Covid-19 pandemic.GDP growth could reach 2.3% in 2021 if there is sufficient post-pandemic global economic recovery to drive demand for copper.
Although Zambia achieved lower middle-income status in 2011, a decade of strong growth has done little to eradicate widespread and extreme rural poverty.Half of Zambians still live in poverty, and the economic decline precipitated by Covid-19 is expected to reverse any recent gains.According to Lloyds Bank, poverty is compounded by a high birth rate and a relatively high burden of HIV/AIDS (one in eight Zambians has the virus). Unemployment is estimated at 15% by the World Population Review.
