Local Salaries · Zambia
What is a good salary in 🇿🇲 Zambia (Lusaka)?
The median is about $49/month; top-10% earners clear $213/month.
The local wage ladder
| Band | Monthly | Annual | Local currency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Survival floorsingle-person essentials | $610 | $7,320 | 15,418 ZMW/mo |
| Statutory minimumILOSTAT statutory monthly minimum wage, 2024 (USD). | $50 | $600 | 1,264 ZMW/mo |
| Median (p50)typical earner | $49 | $588 | 1,239 ZMW/mo |
| Comfortable (p75)upper-middle | $106 | $1,272 | 2,679 ZMW/mo |
| Top 10% (p90)high earner | $213 | $2,556 | 5,384 ZMW/mo |
| Top 1% (p99)elite | $709 | $8,508 | 17,921 ZMW/mo |
Modelled from World Bank GNI $1,200 (2025) and Gini 51.5 (consumption-based, widened to 58.5). Check where you stand in the interactive benchmarker.
Countries with similar median pay
- 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso — median $47/mo
- 🇹🇿 Tanzania — median $47/mo
- 🇹🇩 Chad — median $53/mo
- 🇸🇱 Sierra Leone — median $54/mo
See also: what everyday life costs in Zambia
Frequently asked questions
- What is a good salary in Zambia?
- The median wage is about $49/month ($588/year). A "comfortable" p75 salary is around $106/month, and you'd be a top-10% earner above $213/month.
- What is a top 10% salary in Zambia?
- Roughly $213/month ($2,556/year) puts you in the top 10%; the top 1% starts near $709/month.
- What is the minimum wage in Zambia?
- About $50/month. ILOSTAT statutory monthly minimum wage, 2024 (USD).
- How are these Zambia salary figures calculated?
- A log-normal wage model calibrated from World Bank GNI per capita ($1,200, 2025) and the Gini index (51.5, consumption-based — widened to 58.5 income-equivalent). Estimates for benchmarking, not payroll data.