Zambia

Historical Background

Migration trends in Zambia are very complex, dynamic and yield mixed migration flows. Zambia is the origin, transit, and destination of much migration. Historically, migration has been interwoven into the socio-economic fabric of Zambian society. The discovery of copper in the Zambian Copperbelt in the 1920s and 1930s saw an unprecedented wave of both internal and international migration in Zambia. The mines attracted large foreign-based companies, and their exploration required a large labour force that drew labourers all over the territory and beyond. However, with the fall in the price of copper and the subsequent economic recession experienced by the country, many Zambians are relocating to rural areas to mitigate the high cost of urban living (Girard & Chapolo, 2017).  

Zambia also has a long history of providing international protection and assistance to refugees, dating to the 1940s when the first wave of refugees arrived in Zambia from Poland (Tembo & Lingelbach, 2021). However, recently, refugees in Zambia predominantly come from Africa, namely the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, Burundi, Rwanda, and Somalia. 

Also, because of its centrality in southern Africa and its relative political stability, Zambia attracts migrants from other parts of Africa who wish to transit to other parts of Africa, most especially to South Africa – considered one of the most advanced countries in the continent. Despite the political stability that Zambia enjoys, there are a significant number of internally displaced persons in the country. Cases of both internal and cross-border human trafficking are continually increasing at an unprecedented rate in Zambia, fuelled mainly by the socio-economic hardship in the rural areas.  

Migration Policies

-The 2016 constitution of Zambia is the framework for both migration and citizenship. For example, 

-Article 39 of the constitution sets up roles for dual citizenship;

-Vision 2030, which among other things, focuses on human rights irrespective of status and emphasizes the peaceful coexistence of migrants and nationals to promote social cohesion and tolerance.

-The Seventh National Development Plan 2017-2021, amongst other things, seeks to enhance human development.

-The Zambian National Diaspora Policy (20190, seeks to integrate Zambians in the diaspora into the development agenda of the country.

-The National Protection Policy seeks to equip officials dealing with vulnerable migrants with The necessary skills to provide services that will respond to the protection needs of vulnerable migrants.

-The National Policy of 2007 controls human trafficking and seeks to eradicate all forms of human trafficking while providing adequate support and protection to trafficked victims.

-The National Guideline protects and gives assistance to vulnerable migrants (IOM, 2019).

Zambia is also a party to a limited number of international instruments that relate to refugees and migrants which include the Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees (Refugee Convention), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, ILO Conventions on Minimum Age for employment, forced labour, and worst forms of child labour, The African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), the International Convention on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and its first Optional Protocol, the Palermo Protocol, the underlying Convention, and the Migrant Smuggling Protocol of April 24, 2005. 

Governmental Institutions

The main government institution responsible for migration-related issues in Zambia is the Department of Immigration – an arm of the Ministry of Home Affairs that regulates the entry, exit, and stay in Zambia. The Department has its headquarters in Lusaka with regional offices in all ten provinces in Zambia. Other ministries that work closely with the Department of Immigration to ensure the effective and efficient provision of services include the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services which provides social assistance, protection, promotional services, and promoting an alternative to detention, especially migrant children. The Ministry of Gender is mandated to promote gender equality to all, including developing gender policies that respond to the circumstances of migrant men and women. The Central Statistical Office collects migration-related data that inform the development of migration-related policies. The Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) seeks to, inter alia, put in place effective and efficient measures to manage the displacement of people caused by disaster outbreaks.

Internal Migration

Internal migration in Zambia has been very dynamic. The discovery of copper in Zambia saw an increase in the rate of urbanization informed by the movement of people from the rural areas to the urban areas to feed the growing demand for mine workers. Between 1963 and 1980, as a percentage of the total population, the rural-urban migration increased from 20.5% - 39.9% respectively in all urban areas (Ogura, 1991). According to IOM (2019), the urban population rate as a percentage of the country’s population between 1990 – 2010 stood at 38% and 39.9%. This indicates a stable increase in internal movement in Zambia from 1963 – 2010. The movement can either be from rural–urban areas or urban–urban areas.  The national census that was conducted in 2010 showed that 16.8% of people in Zambia were counted in districts that are parallel to the ones in which they were born (IOM, 2019). These statistics indicate that there is an internal movement of citizens across various internal administrative jurisdictions in the country. People who have been migrating from one urban area to the other constituted the highest category of internal migration in Zambia at 38.7% (Ibid). Rural-to-urban migration increased from 14.9% in 2010 to 20.7 % in 2015. The main reasons for internal migration were employment transfer of the breadwinner which was around 19.9% as well as the decision to settle (17.7%) (Ibid). However, it is important to note that the economic recession in Zambia and the fall in the price of copper reduced the country’s growth rate by 50% which had an adverse effect on the economy, forcing people to move back into rural areas as a survival strategy (African Forum and Network on Debt and Development, 2016).  However, currently, the rate of urbanization in Zambia is increasing. It currently stands at 40%, with an estimated 70% living in informal peri-urban settlements characterised by social, economic, and environmental deficiencies (UN-Habitat, 2022).

Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)

Except for the mass forced displacement in the 1950s that saw approximately 57,000 Tonga-speaking people forced to move away from their usual places of residence to pave way for the construction of the Kariba man-made lake (The New Humanitarian (TNH), 2008), internal displacement in Zambia has largely been influenced by natural disasters, including storms and floods. For example, between 2008 and 2021, there were 102,951 disaster-related displacements in Zambia (IDMC, 2022). In 2020, floods displaced 810 people in the central province of Mumbwa (Ibid). In March and April, 4100 people were displaced in Luapula province, 500 people were displaced in the eastern province of Mambwe, and flash floods displaced 560 people in the eastern province of Lumezi (Ibid). In 2021, storms displaced 53 people in the central province of Kapiri Mposhi, and floods displaced 1300 people in the central province of Mumbwa and Shakumbila (IDMC, 2021). 

The commercialization of agriculture and the government’s poor efforts in protecting small-scale farmers have aggravated displacements. For example, in the district of Serenje, dozens of residents were forcefully displaced to make way for commercial farmers (Human Rights Watch, 2017).  

Immigration

According to UN DESA data as cited by the World Bank (2022), the international migration stock in Zambia stood at 321,167 in 2000, in 2005, it stood at 252,749, in 2010, it stood at 149,637, and in 2015, it stood at 127,915. The trend indicates a downward slope in the number of international migrants in Zambia. According to IOM (2019), drawing from the 2010 census data, an estimated 43,867 immigrants lived in Zambia, with the top origin countries being the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, Zimbabwe, India, and Rwanda.  

Female/Gender Migration

There are no recent statistics on the number of female immigrants in Zambia. However, according to IOM (2019), based on the 2010 census data, there were an estimated 20,617 female immigrants in Zambia, constituting 47% of the immigrant population. Because Zambia is a member of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) that establishes a free trade zone amongst its members within the region, women in particular, who make good use of the window of opportunity and trade across international borders. For example, according to the United Nations (2022), more than 70% of informal cross-border traders in Zambia are women.  

Children

Partly because of the absence of a centralised aggregate database, there are no concise statistics on the number of child migrants in Zambia. However, the nature of child migration in Zambia is characterised by a mixed movement that includes unaccompanied and separated minors, smuggled migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, and victims of human trafficking. Although there are services geared toward the protection of migrant children, for example, the Child Protection Unit, there are inadequate shelters. This results in unaccompanied migrant children sometimes being placed in detention alongside adults, and sometimes mixed with criminals. According to UNHCR (2016), there were 49 children detained in 2013 and 48 in 2014, and the number more than halved in 2015 to 18 children. One of the reasons for the decline of child detention in Zambia is that child migrant makes themselves invisible to law enforcement officials including the police (SIHMA, 2023). Although it increases their vulnerability, it takes them away from the radar of law enforcement officials and their potential arrest (Ibid).  

Other policy frameworks that seek to protect the rights of migrant children through the provision of quality services that significantly have a bearing on the lives of migrant children in Zambia include the Guidelines for Best Interest Determination for Vulnerable Child Migrants.

Refugees and Asylum Seekers

In line with its commitments under the Global Compact on Refugee (GCR) and the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF), refugees and asylum seekers in Zambia are protected in terms of the Refugees Act of 2017. Refugee-related affairs are specifically run and managed by the Office of the Commissioner of Refugees in the Ministry of Home Affairs. According to UNHCR (2023), as of September 2023, Zambia was hosting 92,042 people of concern, of which 68,670 were refugees, 5,935 were asylum seekers, and 17,437 were former refugees. They were located in three refugee settlements (Meheba, Mayukwaukwa, and Mantapala), while others were in the urban areas of Lusaka and Ndola, and the remainder were self-settled in 28 Districts in 5 Provinces (UNHCR, 2022a). As of February 2022, approximately 46% were women, and 47% were children (UNHCR, 2022b). People of concern in Zambia are primarily from the Democratic Republic of Congo (55,060), Burundi (8,659), Somalia (3,371), and Rwanda (873) (UNHCR, 2022a). However, while there is a slight decline in the number of people of concern in Zambia in 2023 (92,042) in comparison with the 2022 data (94,618), the number of refugees and asylum seekers increased slightly from 66,981 in 2022 to 68,670 in 2023 and 3,815 in 2022 to 55,060 in 2023 respectively (UNHCR, 2023). The decline in the number of people of concern was informed by a decline in the number of former refugees from 22,822 in 2022 to 17,437 in 2023 (Ibid). In line with the GCR, CRRF, and the Refugee Act of 2017, refugees in Zambia not only have access to basic social services on the same level as Zambians, but these legal instruments also ensure the socio-economic integration of refugees in the country (UNHCR & The Republic of Zambia, 2019).

Emigration

Copper is the main source of foreign earnings.  The fall in copper prices in the 70s adversely affected Zambia's economy and precipitated a new wave of emigration. The economic situation was compounded in the '90s by the privatisation of parastatals and the liberalisation plans from 2000 to 2005 when Zambia tried to reach the Initiative Completion Point for Highly Indebted Poor Countries using a wage and employment freeze (SIHMA, 2020).

There are no recent concise statistics on the scale of emigration from Zambia as the government focuses more on those coming into the country, and very little attention is paid to those leaving the country. Between 2013 and 2017, international data sources indicated that a total of 278,355 emigrants had left the country for various destinations across the entire world (IOM, 2019). The total estimated population of emigrants represented 1.6% of the 2018 projected Zambian population. The most popular destinations for these emigrants from Zambia were South Africa, Malawi, Zimbabwe, the United Kingdom, the United States, Botswana, the United Republic of Tanzania, Namibia, Australia, and Mozambique (Ibid). Apart from employment opportunities which are usually considered by the majority, migration for study purposes is one of the main reasons people emigrate from Zambia. During 2013 and 2017, an estimated population of 13,921 students left Zambia to study outside the country and the majority of them went to study in South Africa (17.9%), followed by those who went to Namibia (11.7%) (Ibid).

Labour Migration/Brain Drain

Zimbabwe has a long history of labour migration. Besides being a sending and a transit country for labour migrants, Zimbabwe is also a receiver of migrant labour – especially from Malawi, Mozambique, and South Africa. According to IOM (2020), a labour migration report estimated that there were 78,000 migrant labour workers in Zimbabwe - constituting 37.7% of the total migrant population in Zimbabwe. In an attempt to protect migrant workers both in Zimbabwe and Zimbabweans living and working abroad, the government initiated the National Labour Migration Policy (NLMP) of Zimbabwe. Despite the progressive nature of the NLMP, Zimbabwe is yet to ratify the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 97 on Migration for Labour and 143 on Migrant Workers Supplementary Provision.

Unauthorised Migration/Trafficking, Smuggling

Internal and cross-border trafficking is gaining momentum in the country. Zambia is a source, transit, and destination country for trafficking. Zambia is also a Tier 2 country, as the government is making significant efforts in some respects but does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking (US Department of State, 2023). Cases of both internal and cross-border human trafficking activities are continually increasing at an unprecedented rate in Zambia because of many factors including poverty, unemployment, and displacement (Borgen Project, 2023). Many people become victims of human trafficking when they attempt to escape from their socio-economic circumstances in rural areas. The greatest percentage of trafficked citizens are those moving from rural to urban areas. Naivety regarding immigration procedures and the dangers of avoiding designated border post routes make migrants vulnerable to trafficking. These victims include stranded women, girls, and boys from remote parts of the country, who are taken into prostitution and other transactional sexual behaviours, forced labour in agriculture, textile production, mining, construction, small businesses such as bakeries, and forced begging (US Department of State, 2023). Also, migrant women are manipulated to lay false refugee claims in Zambia and are later coerced into prostitution (Ibid). In the current reporting year (2022), the government initiated 42 trafficking investigations, 9 prosecutions involving 17 defendants, continued four prosecutions from last year, and obtained convictions for six traffickers in five cases (Ibid). The low conviction rate is partly because the government still conflates migrant smuggling and human trafficking (Ibid). 

Remittances

 For the last ten years, the government of Zambia has increasingly recognized the positive contribution migration and diaspora engagement play in the development drive of the country. The remittance flow in Zambia has presented a significant fluctuation since 2003 when the first official data on remittances were established. According to data provided by the World Bank, 2008 & 2016; and KNOMAD (nd), as cited by Nyamazana (2022), remittance flow in Zambia experienced an upward trend from 2003 to 2008 and started moving back and forth from 2009 to 2019. For example, remittance flow increased from $36 million in 2003 to an estimated $135 million in 2020. Between 2003 and 2019, remittance flow in Zambia experienced a yearly uptick from 2003 ($36 million) to 2008 ($68 million) and started fluctuating from 2009 ($41 million) – to 2019 ($98 million) (Ibid). The graph illustrates the increase in remittance flow. This is an acknowledgement of the role of the diaspora in the development of the country, as enshrined in the 2019 Diaspora Policy Document in Zambia. The policy amongst other things, seeks to promote, facilitate, and leverage remittances.

Returnees

From 1983 to 1999, the state ran a programme for the voluntary return and integration of skilled Zambians who had emigrated: travel arrangements were facilitated and jobs in the public sector were offered to those willing to return. In 2005, the National Employment and Labour Market Policy aimed at implementing return programmese for professionals, while the Bonding System required students who had benefited from public scholarships to work for the government for a period equivalent to their studies. 

The emigration of qualified workers (teachers, doctors, and nurses) in the health care and education sector adversely affects the country in that limited investment in educational infrastructures on an equal scale that would mitigate against the outflow of these professionals would create an occupational gap in the country. The government is trying to react by offering the Zambian diaspora the opportunity to return (even temporarily), buy land, participate in businesses, or invest in development projects. Now, no data on voluntary returnees are available, however, IOM (2019) states that Zambia experienced a steady increase in involuntary returnees from 2013 (543) to 2016 (2,411) but a decline in 2017 (1,241). 

The Diaspora Policy Document (2019) emphasizes the need to promote permanent or temporary returns to Zambia and to build a cooperation network between Zambian professionals abroad and the home country to encourage the return of skills, by creating a database of available skills in the diaspora matched to local needs and available opportunities.

Recently, because of the induced COVID-19 lockdown, many Zambian nationals caught up in South Africa received help and assistance from the Zambia High Commissioner in South Africa, which facilitated the return of 106 Zambian nationals (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Zambia, 2022). The department also facilitated the return of 6 Zambians and 30 resident permit holders to Zambia (Ibid).

International and Civil Society Organizations

Several migration-related international organizations are working in Zambia. 

For example, UNHCR in Zambia supports the government’s efforts to provide protection and assistance to refugees and asylum-seekers. These include safe and fair access to territory, asylum procedures and rights, inclusion in national services, self-reliance, and opportunities to earn a living and long-term measures such as integration into Zambia as the host country and possible resettlement in third countries.

IOM Zambia’s programmes focus on labour migration and development, diaspora engagement, counter human trafficking and migrant smuggling, border management, migration research, international migration law, and migrants’ rights, migration health and gender, disaster risk reduction, voluntary repatriation, and resettlement of refugees.

Women Refugees Community in Zambian (WRCZ) focuses on empowering women and combating discrimination against refugee women in Zambia.