Country risk profile
Zambia
Published by Salient One · Cite this profile
- ISO
- ZMB
- Region
- Africa
- Population
- 21.9M
- Profile
- updated 7 Nov 2026, 06:03 UTC
Composite risk
73/100
HighAssessment summary
The published high-risk rating is led by Economic Fragility and Governance, based on 7 of 7 risk groups.
Risk by group
Low means available observations are below elevated-risk thresholds. Missing evidence is not treated as low risk.
Indicator evidence
Published values retain their original units and scale directions, with source links for verification.
GOVERNANCE · WB WGI
42.6/100Moderate
Higher means stronger governance.
SOURCE: WB WGI · 2025
CORRUPTION · TI CPI
37.0/100Moderate
Higher means cleaner public sector.
SOURCE: TI CPI · 2025
INFORM RISK · JRC
5.8/10High
Higher means greater crisis risk.
SOURCE: INFORM JRC · 2026
CHILD / FORCED LABOUR · US DOL
7 GOODSHigh
Cattle, Copper Ore, Cotton, Gems, Manganese +2 more
Child-labour category 7 · Forced-labour category 0
SOURCE: US DOL TVPRA · 2024
SANCTIONS · PERMITTED SOURCES
4 DESIGNATIONSLow
Selected lists: EU 0 · OFAC 4 · UN 0 · UK 0 · SECO 0
A country-level count is a screening signal, not a finding about any specific entity or evidence of national culpability.
VIOLENT EVENTS · GDELT
0/100 INTENSITYLow
180-day CAMEO violent event intensity (normalized 0-100)
SOURCE: GDELT · queried 07/11/2026
FATF STATUS
NOT LISTED Low
Not in the FATF list — not subject to FATF monitoring or call for action
SOURCE: FATF
VOICE AND ACCOUNTABILITY · WB WGI
43.9/100
Broad perceptions-based measure, not a press-freedom index. Higher values indicate stronger voice and accountability.
WB WGI · 2025
PM2.5 EXPOSURE · WORLD BANK WDI
20.2 µg/m³
Population-weighted fine particulate exposure; higher values mean greater exposure.
World Bank WDI · 2023
CLIMATE RISK · ND-GAIN
39/100High
Notre Dame Global Adaptation Index — higher = better adapted (vuln. 49%, ready 27%)
SOURCE: ND-GAIN · 2024
TREATY RATIFICATION · ILO NORMLEX
8/8
Context only: legacy eight-convention ratification aggregate. C155 and C187 are excluded; ratification does not establish enforcement or project practice.
SOURCE: ILO NORMLEX · 2026
CHILD LABOUR · ILO ILOSTAT
6%Moderate
Children aged 5–17 in child labour — ILO survey estimate
SOURCE: ILO ILOSTAT · 2022
Additional inputs
- War events · 180-day GDELT
- 4.2/100 intensity · 2026-11-07
- OECD country risk category
- 7/7 · 2026
- EU forced-labour product groups
- No country observation
- Water stress
- No country observation
- Land degradation
- No country observation
- Human development · context only
- 60/100 · 2023
Sector exposure
Sector Risk Intelligence
Child labour by sector · Conflict minerals · EUDR commodity risk · Forced labour detentions
Published model changes · 12 months
Recent score changes
Loading material changes…
These entries record changes in published model outputs. Review the source dates and evidence before relying on a change.
Published score, band and evidence-group changes for Zambia only.
Assessment and calculation
Group total 10 ÷ 7 available groups. Base 47.6 → published 73/100.
Published assessment rationale
High risk driven by Economic Fragility (severe — OECD country risk category 7/7 — highest risk (OECD CRC 2026)), Governance (high — high INFORM risk (5.8/10, INFORM 2026)), Labour & Human Rights (high — child- or forced-labour evidence across 7 goods (US DOL TVPRA 2024)), Environmental (high — high climate vulnerability (ND-GAIN 39/100 2024)), and Corruption & Financial Crime (moderate — elevated corruption perception (37/100, TI CPI 2025)).
Coverage measures available evidence, not certainty. See the exact formula and thresholds.
Research and reuse
Cite and reuse this profile
Commercial reuse is permitted subject to the listed source licences, attribution and modification notices. Salient One calculations are independent and do not imply publisher endorsement. Withheld sources and incomplete coverage are disclosed; this is not a legal compliance determination. Keep the source date and country-level limitations alongside the evidence.
Salient One (2026-11-07). Zambia Country Risk Profile. https://salientone.eu/s1/scorecard/zambia. Country-level context; not an entity determination.
Salient One publishes the profile and its interpretation. Credit the underlying indicator publishers when using their data and retain their applicable terms. See our attribution guidance, reuse terms and corrections process.
Related tools
This profile provides regional context for project assessment. Site-specific impacts require project and stakeholder evidence.
Country annex: Word and PDF downloads after signing in.
Source dates and coverage
Observation periods and pipeline dates are distinct. A recent pipeline date does not verify the observation or establish complete coverage. Where no source-specific note is shown, fallback status was not supplied.
Scorecard computed7 Nov 2026, 06:03 UTC
| Source | Observation | Pipeline |
|---|---|---|
| Governance · WB WGI | 2025 | 1 Nov 2026, 04:04 UTC |
| Corruption · TI CPI | 2025 | 1 Nov 2026, 04:01 UTC |
| INFORM Risk · JRC | 2026 | 1 Nov 2026, 04:07 UTC |
| Child / forced labour · US DOL | 2024 | 1 Nov 2026, 04:07 UTC |
| Sanctions · aggregate ingestion marker | Unknown or not supplied | 7 Nov 2026, 04:05 UTC |
| Violent events · GDELT | Unknown or not supplied | 7 Nov 2026, 04:35 UTC |
| FATF | Unknown or not supplied | 4 Nov 2026, 18:58 UTC |
| Climate risk · ND-GAIN | 2024 | 7 Nov 2026, 04:20 UTC |
| Labour rights · ILO NORMLEXReviewed official matrix; legacy eight-convention aggregate excludes entries marked denounced. Context only; not proof of entry into force, implementation or enforcement. | 2026 | 4 Nov 2026, 19:00 UTC |
| Child labour · ILOSTATSurvey provenance requires validation before project-assessment use. | 2022 | 1 Nov 2026, 04:06 UTC |
| Country risk category · OECD | 2026 | 7 Nov 2026, 04:22 UTC |
| Human development · UNDP | 2023 | 1 Nov 2026, 04:13 UTC |
| Forced labour · EU | Unknown or not supplied | Not recorded |
| Air qualityWorld Bank WDI / GBD observation; no static fallback in the corrected ingestor. | 2023 | 1 Nov 2026, 04:13 UTC |
| Water and land · ingestion pausedHistorical fallback observations are unverified. UN SDG ingestion is paused pending reuse-term verification. | Unknown or not supplied | Not recorded |
Indicator sources
- Governance: https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators
- Corruption: https://data.humdata.org/dataset/global-corruption-perceptions-index
- INFORM risk: https://drmkc.jrc.ec.europa.eu/inform-index/Portals/0/InfoRM/2026/INFORM_Risk_Mid_2026_v073.xlsx
- Child / forced labour: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods
- Violent events: https://console.cloud.google.com/bigquery?project=s1-scorecard&p=gdelt-bq&d=gdeltv2&t=events
- FATF status: https://www.fatf-gafi.org/en/countries/black-and-grey-lists.html
- Voice and accountability: https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/all/indicator/GOV_WGI_VA.EST?format=json
- PM2.5 exposure: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.PM25.MC.M3
- Climate risk: https://gain-new.crc.nd.edu/assets/gain/files/resources-2026-14-07-13h00.zip
- Treaty ratification: https://normlex.ilo.org/
- Child labour: https://ilostat.ilo.org/topics/child-labour/
- War events: https://console.cloud.google.com/bigquery?project=s1-scorecard&p=gdelt-bq&d=gdeltv2&t=events
- OECD country risk category: https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/topics/policy-sub-issues/country-risk-classification/cre-crc-current-english.pdf
- Human development: https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/human-development-index