Indicator	Value
Total population	21,300,000 peopleUN DESA WPP [2024] 21,310,000 people·World Bank WDI [2024] 21,310,000 people
Median age	17.7 yearsUN DESA WPP [2024]
Life expectancy	66.3–66.5 yearsWorld Bank WDI [2024] 66.53 years·UNDP HDI [2023] 66.35 years
Ethnic groups	Bemba 21%, Tonga 13.6%, Chewa 7.4%, Lozi 5.7%, Nsenga 5.3%, Tumbuka 4.4%, Ngoni 4%, Lala 3.1%, Kaonde 2.9%, Namwanga 2.8%, Lunda (north Western) 2.6%, Mambwe 2.5%, Luvale 2.2%, Lamba 2.1%, Ushi 1.9%, Lenje 1.6%, Bisa 1.6%, Mbunda 1.2%, other 13.8%, unspecified 0.4% (2010 est.)CIA World Factbook [2025] · 2026 archive
Languages	Bemba 33.4%, Nyanja 14.7%, Tonga 11.4%, Lozi 5.5%, Chewa 4.5%, Nsenga 2.9%, Tumbuka 2.5%, Lunda (North Western) 1.9%, Kaonde 1.8%, Lala 1.8%, Lamba 1.8%, English (official) 1.7%, Luvale 1.5%, Mambwe 1.3%, Namwanga 1.2%, Lenje 1.1%, Bisa 1%, other 9.7%, unspecified 0.2% (2010 est.); note: Zambia is said to have over 70 languages, although many of these may be considered dialects; all of Zambia's major languages are members of the Bantu family; Chewa and Nyanja are mutually intelligible dialectsCIA World Factbook [2025] · 2026 archive
Religions	Protestant 75.3%, Roman Catholic 20.2%, other 2.7% (includes Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, and Baha'i), none 1.8% (2010 est.)CIA World Factbook [2025] · 2026 archive
Urbanization	46.3% of total population (2023)CIA World Factbook [2025] · 2026 archive
Population growth	2.81 %World Bank WDI [2024]
Birth rate	32.7 per 1,000World Bank WDI [2024]
Death rate	5.17 per 1,000World Bank WDI [2024]
Urban population	45.5 %World Bank WDI [2024]
Languages (structured)	Afrikaans / Aushi / Bemba (Zambia) / Bwile / Chikunda / Chokwe / Fanagalo / Fwe / Ila / Kaonde / KiSetla / Kxoe / Lala-Bisa / Lamba / Lambya / Lenje / Lozi / Luchazi / Lunda / Luvale / Luyi / Mambwe-Lungu / Mashi (Zambia) / Mbowe / Mbukushu / Mbunda / Nambya / Nkoya / Nsenga / Nyamwanga / Nyanja / Nyemba / Nyiha (Malawi) / Nyiha (Tanzania) / Nyika (Malawi and Zambia) / Sala / Seba / Shanjo / Shona / Simaa / Soli / Subiya / Taabwa / Tonga (Zambia) / Totela / Tswana / Tumbuka / Yao / Yauma / Zambian Sign Language / Zimbabwean NdebeleGlottolog [2026]