Married women are required by law to obey their husbands in Zambia
Zambia: Married women are required by law to obey their husbands was 1 (1=yes; 0=no) in 2023. ▬ Flat
Married women are required by law to obey their husbands in Zambia, 1970–2023
Source: Women, Business and the Law; World Bank – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in (1=yes; 0=no).
Analysis
The most recent figure for married women are required by law to obey their husbands in Zambia is 1 (1=yes; 0=no), measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 54 years on record.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, married women are required by law to obey their husbands in Zambia peaked at 1 (1=yes; 0=no) in 1970 and was at its lowest, 1 (1=yes; 0=no), in 1970.
Zambia ranks 1st of 188 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
Married women are required by law to obey their husbands in Zambia, year by year
| Year | (1=yes; 0=no) | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | — |
| 1971 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | +0.0% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 1 (1=yes; 0=no) is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 1 (1=yes; 0=no), 1.0× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 1 (1=yes; 0=no) is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1 (1=yes; 0=no), 1.0× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | 10 |
| 1980s | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | 10 |
| 1990s | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | 10 |
| 2000s | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | 10 |
| 2010s | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | 10 |
| 2020s | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | 1 (1=yes; 0=no) | 4 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
- 1 Albania 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Algeria 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Angola 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Antigua and Barbuda 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Argentina 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Armenia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Australia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Austria 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Azerbaijan 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Bahamas 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Bangladesh 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Barbados 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Belarus 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Belgium 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Belize 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Benin 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Bhutan 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Bolivia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Botswana 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Brazil 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Bulgaria 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Burkina Faso 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Burundi 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Cambodia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Cameroon 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Canada 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Cape Verde 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Central African Republic 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Chad 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Chile 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 China 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Colombia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Comoros 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Congo 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Costa Rica 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Cote d'Ivoire 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Croatia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Cyprus 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Czechia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Democratic Republic of Congo 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Denmark 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Dominica 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Dominican Republic 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 East Timor 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Ecuador 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 El Salvador 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Eritrea 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Estonia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Eswatini 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Ethiopia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Fiji 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Finland 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 France 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Gabon 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Gambia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Georgia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Germany 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Ghana 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Greece 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Grenada 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Guatemala 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Guinea 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Guinea-Bissau 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Guyana 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Haiti 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Honduras 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Hong Kong 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Hungary 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Iceland 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 India 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Indonesia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Ireland 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Israel 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Italy 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Jamaica 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Japan 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Kazakhstan 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Kenya 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Kiribati 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Kyrgyzstan 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Laos 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Latvia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Lebanon 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Lesotho 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Liberia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Libya 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Lithuania 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Luxembourg 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Madagascar 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Malawi 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Maldives 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Malta 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Marshall Islands 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Mauritius 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Mexico 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Micronesia (country) 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Moldova 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Mongolia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Montenegro 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Morocco 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Mozambique 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Myanmar 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Namibia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Nepal 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Netherlands 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 New Zealand 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Nicaragua 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Niger 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Nigeria 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 North Macedonia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Norway 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Oman 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Pakistan 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Palau 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Panama 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Papua New Guinea 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Paraguay 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Peru 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Philippines 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Poland 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Portugal 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Puerto Rico 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Romania 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Russia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Rwanda 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Saint Kitts and Nevis 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Saint Lucia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Samoa 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 San Marino 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Sao Tome and Principe 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Senegal 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Serbia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Seychelles 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Sierra Leone 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Singapore 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Slovakia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Slovenia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Solomon Islands 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Somalia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 South Africa 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 South Korea 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 South Sudan 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Spain 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Sri Lanka 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Suriname 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Sweden 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Switzerland 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Syria 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Tajikistan 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Tanzania 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Thailand 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Togo 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Tonga 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Trinidad and Tobago 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Tunisia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Turkey 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Uganda 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Ukraine 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 United Arab Emirates 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 United Kingdom 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 United States 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Uruguay 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Uzbekistan 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Vanuatu 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Venezuela 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Vietnam 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
- 1 Zimbabwe 1 (1=yes; 0=no) compare
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 married women are required by law to obey their husbands in Zambia?
- Married women are required by law to obey their husbands in Zambia was 1 (1=yes; 0=no) in 2023, according to Women, Business and the Law; World Bank – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest married women are required by law to obey their husbands recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 1 (1=yes; 0=no) in 1970.
- What is the lowest married women are required by law to obey their husbands recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 (1=yes; 0=no) in 1970.
- How does Zambia rank for married women are required by law to obey their husbands?
- Zambia ranks 1st out of 188 countries with data for 2023.
- Is married women are required by law to obey their husbands rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Zambia data come from?
- The figures come from Women, Business and the Law; World Bank – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Married women are required by law to obey their husbands. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 54 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
This indicator captures whether family law includes any provision requiring a married woman to obey her husband or penalizing her for disobedience, such as loss of maintenance rights.