Businesses in Choma

Industries

Business Distribution by Industry in Choma

Industry Description	Number of Establishments
Education	49
Churches	39
Other accommodation	32
Restaurants	26
Shopping	24
Public administration	20
Hotels and motels	16
Hardware store	14
Electronics stores	13
Apartments	11
Grocery stores and supermarkets	11
Corporate management	11
Travel and transportation	10
Clothing stores	10
Bars, pubs and taverns	10
Banks	9

Choma Facts

Area	4352.6 km²
Population	261,609
Male Population	127,776 (48.8%)
Female Population	133,833 (51.2%)
Population change (1975 to 2020)	+241.3%
Population change (2000 to 2020)	+76.2%
Median Age	15.8 years (Male: 15.4, Female: 16.2)
GDP per capita (PPP)	$3,252 (2022)
Local Time
Timezone	Central Africa Time
Lat & Lng	-16.80648, 26.95305

Map of Choma

Interactive Map

Choma Population

Years 1975 to 2030

Data	1975	1990	2000	2015	2020	2025*	2030*
Population	76,659	119,186	148,505	225,295	261,609	283,622	302,220
Population Density	17.6 / km²	27.4 / km²	34.1 / km²	51.8 / km²	60.1 / km²	65.2 / km²	69.4 / km²

* Projected

Sources: JRC (European Commission's Joint Research Centre) work on the GHS built-up grid

Choma Population change from 2000 to 2020

Increase of 76.2% from year 2000 to 2020

Location	Change since 1975	Change since 1990	Change since 2000
Choma	+241.3%	+119.5%	+76.2%
Southern Province, Zambia	—	—	—
Zambia	—	—	—

Sources: JRC (European Commission's Joint Research Centre) work on the GHS built-up grid

Choma Median Age

Median Age: 15.8 years

Location	Median Age	Median Age (Female)	Median Age (Male)
Choma	15.8 yrs	16.2 yrs	15.4 yrs
Southern Province, Zambia	16.1 yrs	16.4 yrs	15.8 yrs
Zambia	17 yrs	17.1 yrs	16.8 yrs

Sources: CIESIN (Center for International Earth Science Information Network)

Choma Population Density

Population Density: 60.1 / km²

Location	Population	Area	Density
Choma	261,609	4,352.6 km²	60.1 / km²
Southern Province, Zambia	1.9 million	85,355.5 km²	22.1 / km²
Zambia	16.1 million	751,093.4 km²	21.5 / km²

Sources: JRC (European Commission's Joint Research Centre) work on the GHS built-up grid

Choma Historical and Projected Population

Estimated Population from 1820 to 2100

Sources:

JRC (European Commission's Joint Research Centre) work on the GHS built-up grid
CIESIN (Center for International Earth Science Information Network)
[Link] Klein Goldewijk, K., Beusen, A., Doelman, J., and Stehfest, E.: Anthropogenic land use estimates for the Holocene – HYDE 3.2, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 9, 927–953, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-9-927-2017, 2017.

Area Codes

Percentage Area Codes used by businesses in Choma

Price Distribution

Business distribution by price for Choma

Human Development Index (HDI)

Statistic composite index of life expectancy, education, and per capita income.

Source: [Link] Kummu, M., Taka, M. &Guillaume, J. Gridded global datasets for Gross Domestic Product and Human Development Index over 1990–2015. Sci Data 5, 180004 (2018) doi:10.1038/sdata.2018.4

Choma Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

GDP per capita, PPP (constant 2017 international $)

Data	1990	1995	2000	2005	2010	2015	2020	2022
GDP per capita	$1,611	$1,487	$1,681	$1,971	$2,410	$2,821	$2,470	$3,252
Total GDP	$189.9M	$201M	$260M	$347M	$495.3M	$667M	$647.5M	$880.8M

Source: [Link] Kummu, M., Kosonen, M. & Masoumzadeh Sayyar, S. Downscaled gridded global dataset for gross domestic product (GDP) per capita PPP over 1990–2022. Sci Data 12, 178 (2025) doi:10.1038/s41597-025-04487-x

Choma CO2 Emissions

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Emissions Per Capita in Tonnes Per Year

Location	CO2 Emissions	CO2 Emissions Per Capita	CO2 Emissions Intensity
Choma	105,292 tn	0.4 tn	24.2 tons/km²
Southern Province, Zambia	760,394 tn	0.4 tn	8.9 tons/km²
Zambia	6,494,218 tn	0.4 tn	8.6 tons/km²

Sources: [Link] Moran, D., Kanemoto K; Jiborn, M., Wood, R., Többen, J., and Seto, K.C. (2018) Carbon footprints of 13,000 cities. Environmental Research Letters DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/aac72a

Choma CO2 Emissions

2013 CO2 emissions (tonnes/year)	105,292 tn
2013 CO2 emissions (tonnes/year) per capita	0.4 tn
2013 CO2 emissions intensity (tonnes/km²/year)	24.2 tons/km²

Natural Hazards Risk

Relative risk out of 10

Hazard	Risk Level
Drought	Medium (5)

* Risk, particularly concerning flood or landslide, may not be for the entire area.

Sources:

Dilley, M., R.S. Chen, U. Deichmann, A.L. Lerner-Lam, M. Arnold, J. Agwe, P. Buys, O. Kjekstad, B. Lyon, and G. Yetman. 2005. Natural Disaster Hotspots: A Global Risk Analysis. Washington, D.C.: World Bank. https://doi.org/10.1596/0-8213-5930-4.
Center for Hazards and Risk Research - CHRR - Columbia University, Center for International Earth Science Information Network - CIESIN - Columbia University, and International Research Institute for Climate and Society - IRI - Columbia University. 2005. Global Drought Hazard Frequency and Distribution. Palisades, NY: NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). https://doi.org/10.7927/H4VX0DFT.

Recent Nearby Earthquakes

Magnitude 3.0 and greater

Date▼	Time↕	Magnitude↕	Distance↕	Depth↕	Location↕	Link
2/3/12	4:49 AM	4.5	74.2 km	10,000 m	Zambia	usgs.gov
11/26/10	6:24 PM	4.3	99.9 km	10,000 m	Zambia	usgs.gov
5/24/09	8:39 PM	4.1	75.8 km	10,000 m	Zambia	usgs.gov
11/15/92	8:30 AM	3.3	83.3 km	33,000 m	Zambia	usgs.gov

Source: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

Choma

Choma is a market town and capital of the Southern Province of Zambia, lying on the main road and railway from Lusaka to Livingstone. It is home to a small museum dedicated to the cultural heritage of the Tonga people of southern Zambia. The populati..

About Our Data

The data on this page is estimated using a number of publicly available tools and resources. It is provided without warranty, and could contain inaccuracies. Use at your own risk.