The 2026 National Budget was presented by the Honourable Minister of Finance to the National Assembly on 26 September 2025.
The theme of the 2026 budget is “Consolidating Economic and Social Gains Towards a Prosperous, Resilient and Equitable Zambia”.
The country is projected to achieve a positive 5.8% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in 2025, compared to 3.8% in 2024.
The improvement is mainly attributed to:
• Increased mining activity;
• Recovery in agriculture; and
• Strong performance of the information and communication technology sector
Projected GDP Growth in 2026
The strategy to achieve the growth objectives will be founded on four thematic areas as outlined in the Presidential Address delivered on the Official Opening of the Fifth Session of the Thirteenth National Assembly. The Address provided the policy direction as laid out in the Eighth National Development Plan and the 2026 budget.
The four thematic areas are:
• Economic transformation and job creation;
• Human and social development;
• Environmental sustainability; and
• Good governance environment.
Overall Comments
- Spending on social security has seen an increase in proposed allocation.
- The New Dawn Administration has produced a budget that aims to continue empowerment of people at the constituency level by increasing the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) from K36.1 million in 2025 to K40.0 million per constituency in 2026.
Furthermore, people at the local level will continue to make decisions on how to spend the CDF. - The need for efficient and effective procurement of goods and services so as to achieve the right price, right quality and delivery on time continues to be emphasised.
- Completion of the restructuring of the external debt remains an urgent objective to deal with the principal and interest arrears as well as have an agreed way forward with the remaining lenders.
- Job creation for the youth continues to be
a priority with the intended recruitment of
2,500 teachers and 2,000 health workers in
2026. - Mining continues to receive particular attention so as to increase production from 800,000 tonnes currently to 3,000,000 tonnes per annum in 6 years.
- Allocation to health has increased to bridge the gap arising from some of the donors withdrawing their financial support.
- The Minister resisted the temptation to increase expenditure in an election year that would affect the macro economics stability.
Challenges
- The implementation of the Budget is dependent on Government continuing to meet its revenue targets.
- The Budget faces the following risks:
- I ncreased infrastructure development costs;
- Any slowness in implementation of projects at the local level under CDF in some constituencies;
- Exchange rate fluctuations on account of high demand for importation of commodities and foreign debt service;
- Climate change effects that pose a risk in terms of both food security and hydropower generation; and
- Subdued global growth due to geopolitical tensions, climate change events, and relatively tight financial conditions.
Presidential Comment on opening of Parliament
The Fifth Session of the Thirteenth National Assembly was opened by the President on 12th September 2025. The Theme of the Presidential speech focused on the positive strides on the Zambian economic and social transformation agenda.
The president highlighted:
- the economic growth,
- the market confidence regained,
- and the restoration of rule of law.
He emphasized that these efforts are yielding the desired results and more remains to be done.
The address was under the theme
“Consolidating economic and social gains towards a prosperous, resilient and equitable Zambia”.
The theme is anchored on a commitment to a national mission of
- building a prosperous Zambia.
- A Zambia where business and job opportunities are available to all,
- A Zambia where quality education and accessible healthcare are assured for all, and
- A Zambia where every citizen lives a dignified life and can achieve their potential.
