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Zambia’s annual inflation rate increased to 6.3 percent in October 2026 from 6.1 percent in September, as the country recorded a trade deficit of US$186.4 million in September.
Zambia Statistics Agency (ZamStats) General Statistician, Sheila Mudenda, said the 0.2-percentage-point increase in annual inflation was mainly attributed to price movements in non-food items.
Speaking during the dissemination of the October inflation and September trade statistics in Lusaka on Thursday, Mudenda said the annual inflation rate meant that, on average, prices of goods and services had increased by 6.3 percent between October 2025 and October 2026.
She said annual inflation for food and non-alcoholic beverages stood at 5.7 percent in October 2026, down from 14.1 percent in October 2025 and 5.8 percent in September 2026.
Giving a provincial breakdown, Mudenda said annual inflation declined in Eastern Province to 4.6 percent from 4.9 percent, Southern Province to 5.4 percent from 5.6 percent, and Western Province to 5.0 percent from 5.2 percent.
However, inflation increased in Central Province to 6.0 percent from 5.6 percent, Copperbelt Province to 5.5 percent from 5.3 percent, Luapula Province to 4.6 percent from 4.3 percent, and Lusaka Province to 8.6 percent from 8.1 percent.
Northern Province recorded annual inflation of 5.8 percent, up from 5.6 percent, while North-Western Province also recorded 5.8 percent.
Mudenda said Lusaka Province accounted for the largest contribution to the overall annual inflation rate, at 2.5 percentage points, followed by Copperbelt Province at 1.2 percentage points.
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Central and Southern provinces contributed 0.7 and 0.6 percentage points, respectively, while Luapula, North-Western and Western provinces each contributed 0.2 percentage points.
On trade, Mudenda said Zambia recorded a deficit of US$186.4 million in September 2026, compared with a surplus of US$48.0 million in August.
“Exports mainly comprising domestically produced goods, decreased by 8.1 percent from $1,748.4 million in August 2026 to US$1.606 billion in September 2026,” she said.
She said the decline was mainly due to a 13.9 percent decrease in export earnings from intermediate goods and a six percent decline in capital goods.
Meanwhile, imports increased by 5.4 percent, from US$1.7 billion in August to US$1.792 billion in September.
Mudenda attributed the increase to higher import bills for capital goods, which rose by 33.5 percent, and raw materials, which increased by 2.7 percent.
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