Ratio of female to male youth unemployment rate (% ages 15-24) in Zambia
Zambia: Ratio of female to male youth unemployment rate (% ages 15-24) was 94.1% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Ratio of female to male youth unemployment rate (% ages 15-24) in Zambia, 1991–2025
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators database. Estimates are based on data obtained from International Labour Organization, ILOSTAT at https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/.
Analysis
Zambia recorded 94.1% for ratio of female to male youth unemployment rate (% ages 15-24) in 2025.
That represents a change of down 1.3% on the previous year and down 0.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, ratio of female to male youth unemployment rate (% ages 15-24) in Zambia peaked at 160.5% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 67.4%, in 2019.
That places Zambia 138th out of 187 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Ratio of female to male youth unemployment rate (% ages 15-24) in Zambia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 160.5% | — |
| 1992 | 142.4% | -11.3% |
| 1993 | 127.2% | -10.6% |
| 1994 | 126.3% | -0.7% |
| 1995 | 125.6% | -0.6% |
| 1996 | 124.6% | -0.8% |
| 1997 | 116.6% | -6.4% |
| 1998 | 107.5% | -7.8% |
| 1999 | 100.1% | -6.9% |
| 2000 | 93.3% | -6.8% |
| 2001 | 93.5% | +0.2% |
| 2002 | 93.8% | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 94.2% | +0.5% |
| 2004 | 94.7% | +0.6% |
| 2005 | 95.4% | +0.7% |
| 2006 | 96.2% | +0.9% |
| 2007 | 97.3% | +1.1% |
| 2008 | 98.6% | +1.4% |
| 2009 | 98.0% | -0.6% |
| 2010 | 97.4% | -0.6% |
| 2011 | 97.1% | -0.4% |
| 2012 | 96.7% | -0.4% |
| 2013 | 96.2% | -0.6% |
| 2014 | 95.5% | -0.7% |
| 2015 | 94.6% | -1.0% |
| 2016 | 93.4% | -1.3% |
| 2017 | 91.5% | -2.0% |
| 2018 | 85.5% | -6.6% |
| 2019 | 67.4% | -21.2% |
| 2020 | 95.3% | +41.5% |
| 2021 | 113.4% | +19.0% |
| 2022 | 100.6% | -11.3% |
| 2023 | 95.4% | -5.2% |
| 2024 | 95.3% | -0.1% |
| 2025 | 94.1% | -1.3% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 94.1% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 113.1%, 83% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 94.1% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 113.3%, 83% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Ratio of female to male youth unemployment rate (% ages 15-24) in Zambia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +41.5% | 67.4% | 95.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 125.7% | 100.1% | 160.5% | 9 |
| 2000s | 95.5% | 93.3% | 98.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 91.5% | 67.4% | 97.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 99.0% | 94.1% | 113.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More gender data for Zambia
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) 9,719 (2030)
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) (0-14), annual growth 1.61 % change on previous year (2030)
- Population 15,306 (2030)
- Working-age population (UN estimates and projections) 15,306 (2030)
- Population (UN estimates and projections), annual growth rate 3.24 % change on previous year (2030)
- Age population, age 00, female, interpolated 340,219 (2025)
- Age population, age 00, male, interpolated 341,639 (2025)
- Age population, age 01, female, interpolated 331,557 (2025)
- Age population, age 01, male, interpolated 332,331 (2025)
- Age population, age 02, female, interpolated 324,712 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is ratio of female to male youth unemployment rate (% ages 15-24) in Zambia?
- Ratio of female to male youth unemployment rate (% ages 15-24) in Zambia was 94.1% in 2025, according to World Bank, World Development Indicators database. Estimates are based on data obtained from International Labour Organization, ILOSTAT at https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/.
- What is the highest ratio of female to male youth unemployment rate (% ages 15-24) recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 160.5% in 1991.
- What is the lowest ratio of female to male youth unemployment rate (% ages 15-24) recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 67.4% in 2019.
- How does Zambia rank for ratio of female to male youth unemployment rate (% ages 15-24)?
- Zambia ranks 138th out of 187 countries with data for 2025.
- Is ratio of female to male youth unemployment rate (% ages 15-24) rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Zambia data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank, World Development Indicators database. Estimates are based on data obtained from International Labour Organization, ILOSTAT at https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/, published as part of Ratio of female to male youth unemployment rate (% ages 15-24) (modeled ILO estimate). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Ratio of female to male youth unemployment is the percentage of female to male youth unemployment rates.