The Fraser Institute has released its Annual Survey of Mining Companies 2025, revealing that Zambia has maintained its position as a top-tier global destination for mining exploration capital.
In the 2025 global rankings, Zambia placed 25th out of 68 jurisdictions evaluated worldwide on the Investment Attractiveness Index (IAI), a comprehensive metric used by investors to determine where to allocate capital.
Zambia’s overall score reached 72.84 in 2025, marking a steady improvement from its scores of 70.02 in 2024 and 64.23 in 2023.
Zambia’s overall score is determined by this weighted formula, which balances a country’s natural wealth against its government’s business climate. It gives a 60% weight to the mineral potential and a 40% weight to the policy framework.
The first part of the calculation is the Best Practices Mineral Potential Index, which measures the country’s pure geological appeal as if it had the best regulations in the world.
Zambia is a strong global performer in this category, ranking 20th out of 41 jurisdictions worldwide with a score of 71.43.
The second part is the Policy Perception Index (PPI), which acts as a report card on the government’s taxes, legal system, and political stability.
In this area, Zambia ranks 30th globally, with its policy score of 74.96 representing a significant increase from the previous year’s score of 62.56.
In the African regional context, Zambia has secured its position as the 3rd most attractive jurisdiction for mining investment on the continent, following only Botswana and Morocco.
Zambia successfully outperformed several major regional mining peers in the 2025 rankings, including Tanzania (34th), the Democratic Republic of Congo (50th), and South Africa (57th).
The Fraser Institute’s annual survey is a primary benchmark used by the mining industry, academia, and media to evaluate the risks and rewards associated with investing in different global jurisdictions.
The 2025 survey reached 2,304 senior executives at exploration and development firms worldwide who reported a combined exploration spending of US$4.2 billion.
