Zambia scores 1.29 out of 4 on the Africa AI Governance Index 2026, which places it in the Emerging tier and ranks it 24 of 54. The eight pillar scores are fellow-assigned values from the Regional Summary, and indicators are not scored. Strategy and Vision is the strongest pillar at 2.30 and Implementation and Impact is the weakest at 0.20. The composite sits below the Southern Africa mean of 1.49 and is level with the Africa mean of 1.33. Desk research in October 2026, unverified by fellows and not used for the scores, found a National AI Strategy launched on 22 November 2024, a data protection Act with an operational regulator, and no published implementation or monitoring report.
P1Strategy & Vision2.30 / 4Developing
Strategy and Vision scores 2.30, in the Developing tier, a fellow-assigned value and the highest of the eight. Desk research in October 2026 found evidence on nine of 10 indicators. Technology and Science Minister Felix Mutati launched the National AI Strategy on 22 November 2024 (S1.1, S1.2). The strategy provides for a National AI Council; the research could not confirm that the Council has been constituted (S1.3). It names healthcare, agriculture, mining, education, finance and public administration as priority sectors (S1.7), phases implementation over two years (S1.8) and includes a monitoring framework with mid-term and end-term evaluations (S1.9, S1.10). No implementation or monitoring report was found. The budget is not determined: no source specifies one (S1.4).
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P2Governance & Regulation1.60 / 4Emerging
Governance and Regulation scores 1.60, in the Emerging tier, a fellow-assigned value. Desk research in October 2026 found that the Data Protection Act No. 3 of 2021 took effect on 1 April 2021 and that the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner was reported fully operational on 10 April 2025 (G2.2). On 24 April 2025 the Cabinet approved in principle a bill to repeal that Act and extend the framework to AI; no enacted AI law was found (G2.1). The African Union status list records ratification of the Malabo Convention on 15 December 2020 (G2.7). The research recorded a confirmed absence of extraterritorial provisions (G2.9). An AI mandate for the regulator is not determined (G2.3).
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P3Infrastructure & Data1.40 / 4Emerging
Infrastructure and Data scores 1.40, in the Emerging tier, a fellow-assigned value. Desk research in October 2026 found 3 data centre facilities listed in Data Center Map's directory (I3.1); state-owned INFRATEL operates three data centres built for the Smart Zambia project (I3.10). Section 70 of the Data Protection Act 2021 requires personal data to be processed and stored in Zambia, and sensitive personal data must always stay in-country (I3.7). International bandwidth for 2025 is reported as about 329 Gbps; the editor's note calls the figure indicative because the source series is inconsistent (I3.4). The research recorded confirmed absences of cable landing points, as Zambia is landlocked, and of any hyperscaler cloud region (I3.3, I3.5).
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P4Human Capital0.90 / 4Nascent
Human Capital scores 0.90, in the Nascent tier, a fellow-assigned value. Desk research in October 2026 found evidence on three indicators. A publications tracker counts 24 AI scholarly publications with a Zambian affiliation for 2024 (H4.4). Bemba, Nyanja and Tumbuka are supported in the language tools checked; Tonga, Lozi, Kaonde, Lunda and Luvale are not listed (H4.10). The government plans an AI training centre, and an AI Centre of Excellence was announced at the University of Zambia with Google and ZAMREN in September 2024; no running reskilling programme was documented (H4.7). Seven indicators are not determined, including AI researchers, university AI programmes, school computer science education and AI patents (H4.1, H4.3, H4.6, H4.5).
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P5Innovation & Ecosystem1.00 / 4Emerging
Innovation and Ecosystem scores 1.00, in the Emerging tier, a fellow-assigned value. Desk research in October 2026 found evidence on one indicator: the TechBehemoths directory lists 4 companies in Zambia that provide AI services, which the research treats as a lower bound (N5.1). It recorded a confirmed absence on one: the standards body ZABS exists, but Zambia is absent from both member lists of ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 42 and no national AI committee was found (N5.8). Eight indicators are not determined. The Bank of Zambia and the Securities and Exchange Commission run fintech sandboxes that are not AI-specific (N5.4). No ISO/IEC 42001 certification, AI safety evaluation facility, risk assessment framework or signed university-industry agreement was found (N5.7, N5.6, N5.9, N5.10).
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P6Ethics & Inclusion1.20 / 4Emerging
Ethics and Inclusion scores 1.20, in the Emerging tier, a fellow-assigned value. Desk research in October 2026 found that section 46(1) of the Data Protection Act 2021 requires an impact assessment before high-risk processing that uses new technologies; this is a data protection assessment and is not AI-specific (E6.1). Section 62(1) bars decisions based solely on automated processing with legal or similar effects, and section 68 lets data subjects complain to the Data Protection Commissioner (E6.4). The research recorded confirmed absences of any reference to African ethical principles in the strategy (E6.9) and of any youth mechanism in its governance structure (E6.10). Bias audits, judicial remedy and advisory body diversity are not determined (E6.2, E6.5, E6.6).
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P7Regional Integration1.20 / 4Emerging
Regional Integration scores 1.20, in the Emerging tier, a fellow-assigned value. Desk research in October 2026 found that Zambia delivered a national statement at the United Nations Global Dialogue on AI Governance in Geneva on 6 and 7 July 2026, and a joint statement for the Group of Friends for International Cooperation on AI Capacity-Building (R7.9, R7.10). Zambia appears on the signatory list of the Africa Declaration on Artificial Intelligence of 4 April 2025 (R7.2). One AI-generated deepfake video of President Hakainde Hichilema, from October 2023, was documented, and police opened an investigation (R7.6, R7.7). No Zambia-specific participation in Southern African Development Community AI coordination was documented (R7.3), and no election provision on AI was found (R7.5).
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P8Implementation & Impact0.20 / 4Nascent
Implementation and Impact scores 0.20, in the Nascent tier, a fellow-assigned value and the lowest of the eight. In the desk research of October 2026, all 10 indicators are not determined. No budget figure, committed or disbursed, is reported for the National AI Strategy (M8.1). The strategy includes a monitoring framework, but no published progress report was located (M8.5). It names health, agriculture and finance as priorities, and the research found no health AI regulation, no agriculture provisions and no Bank of Zambia AI guidance (M8.2, M8.6, M8.7). No government AI registry was found (M8.4). No documented protective outcome was found (M8.9), and no adoption of World Health Organization guidance on AI for health was found (M8.10).
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