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Zambia’s key sectors show mixed performance in 2026 – Economist
ECONOMIST Kelvin Chisanga says Zambia’s economy is stabilisng with the projected growth of around 4.5 percent, after economic reviews. Chisanga said this, however, remains heavily
Picture: Kalemba
ECONOMIST Kelvin Chisanga says Zambia’s economy is stabilisng with the projected growth of around 4.5 percent, after economic reviews.
Chisanga said this, however, remains heavily dependent on mining, with slow diversification across many other sectors.
He said the mining sector is still contributing about 70 percent of export earnings and around 15–18 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth.
He said the developments are driven by the strong copper output and stable global prices amidst uncertainties.
” Zambia’s early 2026 sector performance shows an overall stabilizing model, but quite uneven economy,” he said.
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Chisanga also said that the energy sector, has improved availability by an estimated 20 to 30 percent, reducing production bottlenecks in mining and industry.
Meanwhile, the Economist said the agriculture sector accounts for about 20 percent of the GDP, showing partial recovery.
He noted that this, is helping ease inflation which has moderated to around 7 to 8 percent.
” This, however, remains highly climate-sensitive,” Chisanga stated.
He, on the other hand said that the construction sector is growing moderately at around 3 to 5 percent, supported by infrastructure spending.
He said that this, is however, constrained by fiscal pressures due to rising expenditure patterns of demands following external shocks mitigations and election related expenses.
” The services sector contributes over 50 percent of the GDP, with ICT and financial services expanding steadily, while trade has remained in weak position,” Chisanga added.
Source: Kalemba — Read more
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