Zambia

Zambia will undertake its 1st Voluntary National Review in July 2020. With a
focus this year on development accelerators and transformative action, it is a
key moment to consider activities and tools which can unlock progress, for all,
across the board.

Access to information – understood as the physical possibility and right for all
to seek and find information, and the skills to use it – can make just such a
contribution. This access can help at all levels. It supports individuals to take
better decisions about how to farm, where to look for work or how to look after
their own and their families’ health. It gives governments the possibility to
define better policies. It allows researchers to understand the world around us,
establish new insights and innovate. Libraries are a key part of the
infrastructure for ensuring that this is the case.

But where does Zambia stand today as concerns its libraries and access to
information? This data sheet provides background based on data from the
Development and Access to Information report produced by IFLA in
partnership with the Technology and Social Change Group at the University of
Washington, as well as IFLA’s own Library Map of the World.

KEY CONCLUSIONS
• Available figures suggest that that Zambia has a lower density of public
libraries and public library workers than the average for Sub-Saharan
Africa. However, given that it has a decentralised library system, data
may be incomplete. At the level of individual libraries, there are positive
examples of using technology to reach out to and support communities
effectively.
• Under the Development and Access to Information framework, Zambia is
a strong performer on rights, and scores around regional averages on
equality, although there is room for improvement here. Key areas for
focus will need to be on education and providing more opportunities for
all citizens to get online, in order to take advantage of the possibilities
that access to information brings for development.

LIBRARIES IN ZAMBIA
According to data avialbale on the Library Map of the World, Zambia has a
total of 45 public libraries, with information about other library types not

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avialable. This represents a total of 0.3 per 100 000 people, compared with an
average for Sub-Saharan Africa of 0.5. With 135 public library workers, there
are 0.8 per 100 000 citizens, comapred to an average for Sub-Saharan Africa of
1.8. Nonetheless, given the decentralised nature of libraries in Zambia, these
may well represent under-estimates.

Zambia also has academic libraries which work, notably, with Electronic
Information for Libraries (EIFL) in order to provide access to materials for
students and researchers, as well as school libraries, usually supported by
parents.

Working also with EIFL, training programmes are helping public librarians
build the skills and confidence to work with technology, and use this to
increase the impact of services offered to communities. More information is
available on Zambia’s country page on the Library Map of the World.

DEVELOPMENT AND ACCESS TO INFORMATION IN ZAMBIA

The Development and Access to Information report draws on a range of
indicators highlighting where countries stand on four key pillars of access to
information: connectivity, equality, skills and rights. For meaningful access to
information to be a reality for all, performance needs to be strong across all of
these categories.

Zambia’s performance across the four pillars of the development and access to
information framework has both positives and negatives. Concerning
connectivity, Zambia has a lower coverage of 3G networks, but a higher number
of mobile broadband subscriptions than the average for Sub-Saharan Africa.
This may compensate for lower rates of household internet and computer
access, giving the country a higher rate of internet use (25.5%) compared to the
regional average (20%). Nonetheless, this remains a low share of the population.

The picture is also mixed on equality, where higher poverty rates come
alongside better scores on gender equality than for the region, although on both,
the country scores below global averages. On skills, there is considerable work
to do, with a literacy rate of just over 50%, and low scores on the skills pillar of
the ICT Development Index.

The picture is more positive on rights, where Zambia scores above both regional
and global averages on all indicators, and particularly highly on freedom of

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discussion, indicating that those who do benefit from connectivity and skills face
few other restrictions in accessing and sharing information.

Overall, the results from the DA2I framework suggest that work will be needed
to bring more people online. This in itself can help people learn and find work,
providing opportunities to move out of poverty. The fact of a relatively high level
of rights protection implies that once progress is possible on indicators of
connectivity and skills, there is scope for rapid progress towards access to
information.

Zambia
3G Network Coverage
Freedom of Discussion 100 Mobile Broadband
Zambia 80
Net Freedom Fixed Broadband
60

Sub- Political Rights 40 Household Internet Access

Saharan
Africa 20
Household Computer
World Civil Liberties 0
Access

Literacy Poverty

ICT Skills Gender Inequality

Female Internet Use Share of NEETs

Internet Use

How to read the graph: this graph displays a range of indicators used within the DA2I
framework, adjusted to fit on a scale of 0-100, where 100 is the most positive outcome
in terms of access to information.

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TABLE OF DATA

See below for explanations. * = or latest available year. Regional averages are based on available data.

PILLAR INDICATOR ZAMBIA Year SUB-SAHARAN Year WORLD Year

AFRICA
CONNECTIVITY 3G Network Coverage 53.00% 2016 56.54% 2016 81.92% 2016
Mobile Broadband 2016 56.22 2016
(Subscriptions per 100 People) 31.08 2016 22.70
Fixed Broadband 2016 13.71 2016
(Subscriptions per 100 People) 0.19 2016 0.54
Household Internet Access 14.33% 2016 16.04% 2016 48.16% 2016
Household Computer Access 8.14% 2016 9.11% 2016 45.88% 2016
EQUALITY Poverty (Share of pop’n below 2015* 26.69% 2015*
national poverty line) 64.42% 2010 47.34%
Gender Inequality (0 = More 2015 0.36* 2015*
equal, 1 = Less equal) 0.53 2015 0.56
Share of NEETs 11.07 2015* 21.12% 2015*
Internet Use 25.51% 2016 20.00% 2016* 49% 2016*
Female Internet Use 11.07% 2016* 52.79% 2016*
SKILLS ICT Skills 3.13 2017 0.91 2017 5.76 2017
Literacy 55.30% 2015 75.09% 2015 91.75 2015
RIGHTS Civil Liberties (0 = least free, 60 2018 30.9 2018
= most free) 33.00 2018 24.59
Political Rights (0 = least free, 2018 20.37 2018
40 = most free) 22.00 2018 16.73
Net Freedom (0 = most free, 2016 53.29 2016
100 = least free) 38.00 2016 45.95
Freedom of Discussion 0.82 2016 0.66 2016 0.64 2016

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EXPLANATION OF INDICATORS

3G Network Coverage: this provides a measure of whether one part of the basic infrastructure for connectivity exists, although in itself is not
enough to guarantee access (users need a device and a relevant subscription to be able to get online). Source: ITU

Mobile Broadband (Mobile Broadband Subscriptions per 100 people): this provides an idea of how many people can use mobile internet,
opening up many – if not all – of the possibilities that internet access brings. One person may have more than one subscription. Source: ITU

Fixed Broadband (Fixed Broadband Subscriptions per 100 people): this provides an idea of how widespread home or business internet access
is. Fixed access is often associated with the possibility to connect computers to make more advanced uses of the internet. Source: ITU

Household Internet Access (Share of Households with Internet Access): access to the internet at home allows for access to information at any
time without having to go outside, but may be controlled by some members of the family. Source: ITU

Household Computer Access (Share of Households with a Computer): this focuses on access to computers. This is crucial for people to be
able to carry out more advanced activities on the internet that might be impossible on a phone, such as writing resumes or analysing data.
Source: ITU

Poverty: this indicator measures the number of people living below the national poverty line, which varies from country to country. It is a
measure of economic inequality in a country. The indicator is inversed in the chart (i.e. the share of people not under the poverty line). Source:
World Bank

Gender Inequality: this is calculated using the Gender Inequality Index. This index uses a basket of indicators in different areas of social
development including: reproductive health, proportion of women in parliament, relative shares of men and women with at least some
secondary education, and labour market participation in order to provide a broad idea of the extent of gender inequality in a country. The
indicator runs from 0 (most equal) to 1 (least equal) and is inversed and adapted in the chart above. Source: UNDP

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Share of NEETS (People aged 15-24 Not in Education, Employment or Training): this measures the share of young people cut off from
education or the job market. Being ‘NEET’ can bring long-term scarring effects, and so reducing numbers is a key priority. The indicator is
inversed and adapted in the chart (i.e. the share of young people who are not NEET). Source: ILO.

Internet Use (Share of People Using the Internet): looking beyond household access data (which will be affected by the structure of households
in general), this gives a figure for the number of people using the internet. Source: ITU

Female Internet Use: this measure, in conjunction with the share of the overall population using the internet, allows us to understand to what
extent there is a gender digital divide. Source: ITU

ICT Skills: there are relatively few global metrics of ICT skills, with those that exist only focusing on certain regions. The Skills Sub-Index of
the ICT Development Index created by the ITU aims to work in this direction using levels of secondary and tertiary education enrolment, plus
mean years of schooling, as proxies. Source: ITU

Literacy: this measures literacy among 15-24 year olds – i.e. people who have finished formal education. While there are online resources
available for people with low literacy, being able to read, type, and understand information remains a fundamental skill. Source: UNESCO
Institute for Statistics.

Civil Liberties: this provides an indication of the degree to which citizens of a country enjoy fundamental civic rights, including freedom of
expression and association, as well as the strength of the rule of law, based on expert judgements. Scores run from 0 (least free) to 60 (most
free) and have been adapted to fit the graphic above. Source: Freedom House.

Political Rights: this provides a measure of the rights people have to participate in the political process, including fair and free elections,
political pluralism, and the functioning of government in general. Scores run from 0 (least free) to 40 (most free) and have been adapted to fit
the graphic above. Source: Freedom House.

Net Freedom: this metric assesses the level of restrictions on rights online by both public and private actors. It draws on assessments of
obstacles to access (legal, economic and practical), limits on content, and violations of rights. Scores run from 100 (least free) to 0 (most free)
and so are inverted in the graphic above. Source: Freedom House.

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Freedom of Discussion: this indicator looks at whether people are able to hold private discussions without fear of repercussions either from
the authorities or society in general due to cultural restrictions or norms. Scores run from 0 (least free) to 1 (most free), and so are adapted to
fit int the graphic above. Source: V-Dem dataset codebook.