Zambia Plans 7% Spending Rise in 2027 Budget, Borrowing Rises to 44.9bn Kwacha

Zambia's government is projecting a 7% rise in spending in next year's budget, with total expenditure put at 271.9 billion Zambian kwacha, about $13.8 billion. The finance ministry released the figures on Monday during public hearings held ahead of the official budget presentation.

Revenue is expected to increase by about 6% to 218.6 billion kwacha, leaving a gap Lusaka will cover with fresh borrowing.

Borrowing climbs from this year

Next year's borrowing is seen at 44.9 billion kwacha. Of that amount, 37.3 billion kwacha will come from domestic sources and 7.7 billion kwacha from external lenders. It is up from 34.5 billion kwacha of borrowing this year.

Growth forecast cut below earlier estimate

The ministry expects economic growth of 5.3% this year. That is below the 6.4% projection made when the 2026 budget was presented a year ago.

Copper output targets raised

Copper output is expected to rise to 1.08 million metric tons in 2027, 1.25 million tons in 2028 and 1.40 million tons in 2029. Production was 890,346 metric tons in 2025, missing the target of 1 million tons.

Hitting the copper targets would matter for the budget, since the metal is a major source of export earnings and government revenue. The numbers presented on Monday will be watched closely when the official budget is tabled.