Zambia

The Republic of Zambia is a landlocked Southern African presidential republic that gained independence from Britain on 24 October 1964. The country has a population of roughly 21–22 million and a GDP per capita of roughly US$1,200–1,400 in recent current-dollar estimates. English is the official language; major Zambian languages used in public communication and broadcasting include Bemba, Nyanja, Tonga, Lozi, Lunda, Kaonde and Luvale, with additional languages including Lenje used in specific local-language services across the country’s 10 provinces and 116 districts.

President Hakainde Hichilema of the United Party for National Development (UPND) has held office since 24 August 2021, when he defeated incumbent Edgar Lungu of the Patriotic Front (PF) to end a decade of PF rule. Hichilema’s first term has been dominated by economic stabilisation following Zambia’s 2020 debt default; the country reached landmark debt-restructuring agreements in 2023–2024 under the G20 Common Framework, including the 2024 bondholder restructuring that paved the way for Zambia’s exit from default and that was widely described as the first successful sovereign-debt restructuring under the Common Framework architecture. The Ministry of Finance projects GDP growth of 5.8% in 2025 rising to 6.4% in 2026, driven by mining and agriculture, while the World Bank’s more conservative 2025 estimates place growth at around 4.6% with a 2026–2028 average of approximately 5.3%. Zambia’s next general election is scheduled for 13 August 2026, which will be the central political event of the SMM 2026 review cycle.

The Zambian media-regulatory environment has undergone substantial reform during Hichilema’s first term. The criminalisation of defamation of the President was repealed through the Penal Code amendment assented to on 23 December 2022; the Access to Information Act was enacted in December 2023, commenced by Statutory Instrument No. 35 of 2024 on 25 June 2024, and supported by the Access to Information Regulations issued as Statutory Instrument No. 56 of 2025 on 29 August 2025. On 23 December 2025, Hichilema assented to two further pieces of legislation: the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation Act No. 26 of 2025, intended to replace the 1987 Cap. 154 framework, reconstitute the ZNBC Board, and introduce a statutory broadcast levy; and the companion Independent Broadcasting Authority Act No. 25 of 2025, which restructures sectoral broadcast regulation. Both Acts require ministerial commencement and subsidiary regulations, and as of early 2026, implementing statutory instruments were still under drafting by ZNBC, the Independent Broadcasting Authority, the Ministry of Information and Media, and the Ministry of Justice.

The Ministry of Information and Media, renamed from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services in September 2021, is headed by Cornelius Mweetwa (since 25 September 2023), who also serves as Chief Government Spokesperson, with Thabo Kawana as Permanent Secretary.

Reporters Without Borders ranked Zambia 77th of 180 countries in the 2026 World Press Freedom Index, up from 82/180 in 2025; RSF notes that the media environment has improved since Hichilema’s 2021 election but that legal and economic constraints continue to affect journalistic independence. Civil-society groups including MISA Zambia have raised concerns about elements of the 2025 reform agenda, including provisions of the Cyber Security Act adopted in 2025 that contain broad provisions with potential implications for press freedom, and provisions of the 2025 IBA Bill that were criticised as enabling restrictions on critical voices and citizen journalism.

Zambia’s formal state-owned and government-controlled media architecture in this dataset comprises three organisations across two typology categories.

The State-Controlled (SC) broadcaster Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) anchors the country’s public-broadcasting role through national television and radio services, including Radio 1, Radio 2 and Radio 4, and broadcasts in English and seven major Zambian languages from its Mass Media Complex headquarters on Alick Nkhata Road in Lusaka. ZNBC’s institutional lineage stretches back to Radio Lusaka, established by the colonial Information Department in 1941; the corporation was reconstituted in its present form at the end of the 1980s. Director General Berry Lwando left the position in January 2026 after the Board said it had mutually agreed to part ways with him, with Reuben Kajokoto appointed Acting Director General; the Board is chaired by Joseph Shapela Kazhila.

The State-Controlled state news agency Zambia News and Information Services (ZANIS) functions as a department within the Ministry of Information and Media, formed in 2005 by the merger of the Zambia News Agency (ZANA, est. 1969) and the Zambia Information Services (ZIS); ZANIS is led by Director Loyce Saili (since 31 January 2022, the first woman to head the institution) and significantly expanded its reach with the launch of ZANIS Television in October 2024 and a MultiChoice Zambia DStv carriage agreement.

The Captured Public (CaPu) newspaper publishers are held through the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) Zambia Limited, a wholly government-owned investment holding company that owns 100% of Times Printpak Zambia Limited, publisher of the Times of Zambia and Sunday Times of Zambia, and 100% of Zambia Daily Mail Limited, publisher of the Zambia Daily Mail and Sunday Mail; the IDC Board is chaired by the President of the Republic of Zambia, and the corporation’s wider portfolio has been reported as 30 SOEs within 39 investments. IDC CEO Cornwell Muleya has held office since 11 October 2023. The 2026 typology distribution stands at 2 SC + 1 CaPu.

Media profiles