Largest cities in Zambia by population
The 10 cities the United Nations Demographic Yearbook 2024 lists for Zambia: the capital and every city of 100,000 or more, with the latest figure the country reported. The largest is Lusaka with 1,747,152 people.
Who runs cities in Zambia?
Districts / local authorities (116: 5 city, 14 municipal, 97 town councils): Mayor or council chairperson and ward councillors directly elected by first-past-the-post for five years; three chiefs' representatives also sit on each council; a district commissioner appointed by the President represents central government. Local services such as markets, water and sanitation in some areas, roads, planning, registration of villages and administration of chiefs' affairs.
How local power works in Zambia · Level 3: local councils worldwide
| # | City | Population | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lusaka (capital) | 1,747,152 | 16 October 2010 |
| 2 | Kitwe | 517,543 | 16 October 2010 |
| 3 | Chipata | 455,783 | 16 October 2010 |
| 4 | Ndola | 451,246 | 16 October 2010 |
| 5 | Kasama | 231,824 | 16 October 2010 |
| 6 | Chingola | 216,626 | 16 October 2010 |
| 7 | Kabwe | 202,360 | 16 October 2010 |
| 8 | Mufulira | 162,889 | 16 October 2010 |
| 9 | Luanshya | 156,059 | 16 October 2010 |
| 10 | Livingstone | 139,509 | 16 October 2010 |
Countries define a city in different ways (the city proper, or the wider urban area) and report in different years, so cities in different countries are not always comparable.
More on Zambia: official statistics · government and power · regions
Sources
- United Nations Statistics Division: Demographic Yearbook 2024, Table 8: Population of capital cities and cities of 100 000 or more inhabitants, latest available year, 2005-2024, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0c6784df022e…)
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