That dollar amount results from a 39.9% increase from $8.1 billion five years earlier in 2020.
Year over year, the overall value of Zambia’s exported products rose by 7% compared to $10.5 billion starting in 2023.
Zambia is a landlocked nation in Africa’s southern region.
Based on the average exchange rate for 2024, the Zambian Kwacha depreciated by -31.5% against the US dollar since 2020 and decreased by -23.3% from 2023 to 2024. Zambia’s weaker local currency makes its exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively less expensive for international buyers.
Zambia’s Major Trading Partners
The latest available country-specific data shows that 94.7% of products exported from Zambia was bought by importers in: Switzerland (42.5% of the Zambian total), mainland China (20.8%), Democratic Republic of the Congo (10.7%), South Africa (4.2%), United Arab Emirates (3.5%), Zimbabwe (3.3%), Canada (2.3%), Singapore (2%), Tanzania (1.7%), Namibia (1.25%), Malawi (1.22%) and India (1.21%).
From a continental perspective, 43.5% of Zambia’s exports by value was delivered to European countries while 28.7% was sold to importers located in Asia. Zambia shipped another 25.2% worth of goods to buyers in fellow African nations.
Smaller percentages went to customers in North America (2.5%), Oceania (0.01%) Australia and New Zealand only, then Latin America (0.005%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.
Given Zambia’s population of 21.1 million people, its total $11.3 billion in 2024 exports translates to approximately $540 for every resident in the African nation. That dollar metric outpaces the average $510 per capita one year earlier during 2023.
Zambia’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Zambian global shipments during 2024. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Zambia.
- Copper: US$7.6 billion (67.3% of total exports)
- Ores, slag, ash: $475.7 million (4.2%)
- Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $326.2 million (2.9%)
- Mineral fuels including oil: $306.8 million (2.7%)
- Gems, precious metals: $280.4 million (2.5%)
- Tobacco, manufactured substitutes: $193.7 million (1.7%)
- Iron, steel: $190.8 million (1.7%)
- Inorganic chemicals: $172.3 million (1.5%)
- Beverages, spirits, vinegar: $153.2 million (1.4%)
- Food industry waste, animal fodder: $144.9 million (1.3%)
Zambia’s top 10 exports accounted for 87.2% of the overall value of its global shipments.
Ores, slag and ash was the fastest grower among the top 10 Zambian export categories, up by 89.6% from 2023 to 2024.
In second place for improving export sales was gems and precious metals via a 67.4% advance, led by Zambia’s revenues from exported gold.
Zambia’s shipments of tobacco plus manufactured substitutes posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 14.9%.
The leading decliner among Zambia’s top 10 export categories was salt, sulphur, stone and cement, thanks to a -36.8% year-over-year drop.
At the more granular four-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, Zambia’s most valuable exported products are unrefined copper (51.8% of the Zambian total), refined copper (14.8%), nickel ores and concentrates (2.9%), electrical energy (2.5%), unmanufactured tobacco and tobacco waste (1.7%), hydraulic cements (1.4%), non-alcoholic drinks excluding water or juice and milk (1.3%), synthetic precious stones (1.1%), zinc ores and concentrates (1%), and iron ferroalloys (also 1%).
Products Generating Zambia’s Best Trade Surpluses
Zambia posted a US$7.8 million trade surplus during 2024, shrinking by -97.5% from $308.7 million in black ink for 2023.
The following types of Zambian product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Copper: US$7.6 billion (Up by 11.7% since 2023)
- Gems, precious metals: $275.5 million (Up by 65.5%)
- Ores, slag, ash: $225.3 million (Up by 58%)
- Tobacco, manufactured substitutes: $189.9 million (Up by 14.2%)
- Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $162.3 million (Up by 41.2%)
- Food industry waste, animal fodder: $101.2 million (Down by -9.1%)
- Sugar, sugar confectionery: $99.2 million (Down by -34.6%)
- Beverages, spirits, vinegar: $88.5 million (Down by -1.3%)
- Stone, plaster, cement, asbestos: $72.5 million (Reversing an -$8.3 million deficit)
- Cereal/milk preparations: $52.9 million (Up by 39.6%)
Zambia has highly positive net exports in the international trade of its most lucrative export, copper-related materials. In turn, these cashflows indicate Zambia’s strong competitive advantages under the copper product category.
Products Causing Zambia’s Worst Trade Deficits
Below are exports from Zambia that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Zambia’s goods trail Zambian importer spending on foreign products.
- Mineral fuels including oil: -US$2.3 billion (Up by 46.2% since 2023)
- Machinery including computers: -$1.7 billion (Up by 50.3%)
- Vehicles: -$1.1 billion (Down by -14.1%)
- Fertilizers: -$540.2 million (Down by -13.8%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$476.1 million (Up by 15.1%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$420.3 million (Up by 38.6%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$303.1 million (Up by 13.3%)
- Other chemical goods: -$282.9 million (Up by 12.1%)
- Articles of iron or steel: -$241.8 million (Up by 33.7%)
- Rubber, rubber articles: -$188.5 million (Up by 10%)
Historically, Zambia has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits particularly for refined petroleum oils and, to a lesser extent, crude oil under the mineral fuels including oil product category.
Zambian Export Companies
Not one Zambian corporation ranks on the Forbes Global 2000 of biggest businesses.
Wikipedia lists exporters from Zambia including companies engaged in international trade. Selected examples are shown below.
- Chilanga Cement (cement, cement clinker)
- Konkola Copper Mines (copper mining, smelter)
- Zambeef Products (beef, milk, eggs)
- Zambezi Airlines (airliner)
- Zambian Breweries Plc (lagers, bottling)
- ZCCM Investments Holdings (copper-mining conglomerate)
In macroeconomic terms, Zambia’s total exported goods represent 12.5% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2024 ($90 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 12.5% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2024 compares to 12.3% for 2023. Those percentages suggest a relatively increasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Zambia’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.
Another vital economic indicator is Zambia’s unemployment rate, which slowed from an average 12% for 2023 to the average 11.5% jobless rate for 2024 according to Trading Economics statistics.
Zambia’s capital city is Lusaka.
See also Uganda’s Top 10 Exports, Nigeria’s Top 10 Exports and South Africa’s Top 10 Exports
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Africa: Zambia. Accessed on October 24, 2025
EXCHANGE-RATES.org, Zambian Kwacha (ZMW) To US Dollar (USD) Exchange Rate History. Accessed on October 24, 2025
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on October 24, 2025
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on October 24, 2025
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on October 24, 2025
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on October 24, 2025
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on October 24, 2025
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Zambia. Accessed on October 24, 2025
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on October 24, 2025
Wikipedia, Zambia. Accessed on October 24, 2025