Zambia: Chinese Development Finance Profile, 2000-2022

This country profile of Zambia provides a detailed overview of the scale, scope, and composition of Chinese state-directed financing to Zambia between 2000 and 2022. It includes granular information on key trends in China’s loan and grant-financed commitments, its lending portfolio, ESG risks in its infrastructure projects, and contractual safeguards adoption and implementation.

Between 2000 and 2022, China has directed $13.9 billion in loan and grant-financed commitments and 245 projects to the Republic of Zambia. Breaking with previous administrations, the strong pro-China stance that former President Lungu took when he ascended to office in 2015 led to a sharp increase in new commitments from China, with at least $2 billion in commitments every year between 2016 and 2018—which has since declined since 2019.

The insights in this profile are derived from AidData’s Global Chinese Development Finance Dataset, Version 3.0, and the sources referenced therein. Additional 2022 data collection is based on a forthcoming dataset version launching later this year.