Official earnings data · Zambia
Average salary in Zambia per month: K7,025, and why most workers earn far less
The official average for paid employees is K7,025 a month. But 53.6% earned K2,700 or less in the 2025 Labour Force Survey, so the average sits far above a typical wage.
The average monthly pay of paid employees in Zambia was K7,025 in the 2025 Labour Force Survey, which was released on 16 October 2026. That number is pulled up by high earners. More than half of paid employees, 53.6%, earned K2,700 or less, while 30% earned more than K7,500. The survey's median wage is K17 an hour against an average of K42, and that gap tells you the same thing.
| Occupation | Earning more than K7,500 | Average pay per hour |
|---|---|---|
| Skilled agriculture and forestry | 67.8% | K38 |
| Managers | 56.8% | K56 |
| Professionals | 55.9% | K50 |
| Technicians and associate professionals | 36.9% | K52 |
| Craft and related trades | 23.6% | K49 |
| Service and sales | 17.2% | K33 |
| Elementary occupations | 16.8% | K40 |
| Clerical support | 16.1% | K49 |
| Plant and machine operators | 15.7% | K43 |
From chapter 12 of the report, tables 12.3 and 12.5. These are shares of paid employees across a whole occupation group, not the pay of any one job. The agriculture row looks high, and it's what the table prints. It counts paid employees only, so it leaves out people who farm for themselves.
Why is the average so far above what most people earn?
Because a small number of high salaries lifts an average. If nine people earn K2,000 and one earns K50,000, the average is K6,800, yet nobody in that room earns near it. In the survey, 70.0% of people in elementary jobs and 68.4% in service and sales earned K2,700 or less. So when you see K7,025 quoted as a normal wage, read it as a number for the whole country and not as what a new job is likely to pay.
How does pay differ for men and women, and in towns?
Men averaged K7,180 and women K6,685 in the survey's chapter on earnings. Its summary table prints K6,680 for women, so you may see either number. Urban employees averaged K7,764 and rural employees K5,584. Women also had a higher low pay rate, 33.9% against 28.0% for men. The low pay rate counts people earning under two thirds of the median hourly wage.
Which employers pay more?
The survey shows the share above K7,500 for each type of employer: international bodies and embassies 64.6%, central government 51.7%, NGOs 42.6%, parastatals 31.6%, private businesses and farms 26.4%, local government 24.8% and households 9.7%. At the other end, 58.0% of those in private business and 83.2% of those working for households earned K2,700 or less.
What does K7,025 leave you after tax?
If K7,025 is your gross pay and all of it is basic, you pay K385 PAYE, K351.25 NAPSA and K70.25 NHIMA, and take home K6,218.50. On K2,700 you pay no PAYE, K135 NAPSA and K27 NHIMA, and take home K2,538. On K7,500 you pay K520 PAYE, K375 NAPSA and K75 NHIMA, and take home K6,530. These are our sums from the 2026 rates. The survey itself doesn't work them out. Try your own figure in our free take-home calculator.
What's the salary for my job?
This survey can't tell you, and neither can we, yet. We looked for official pay scales for teachers, nurses, police and other public jobs and couldn't open any on 2 November 2026. Of the 270 jobs in our own catalogue on 1 November 2026, none had pay in the salary field. So we won't print a typical salary for one job. What we can give you is the legal floor on our minimum wage page, and a way to test any figure with the take-home calculator.
How many people are out of work?
ZamStats reports unemployment of 9.9% in 2025, down from 12.9% in 2024. It's far higher for the young: 23.9% for ages 15 to 24. About 4.76 million people were employed and 523,751 were unemployed.
Sources
Checked 2 November 2026. Each figure keeps the period and scope of its source.