Country Foundations

Zambia

Constitution in force since 1991, 30,696 words. Rights measured for 2023.

Declared
78%
mean across compared rights
Practiced
69%
mean across compared rights
Gap
−9%
delivers less than promised
Executive respects constitution
83%
V-Dem, measured directly

The rights ledger

Each row compares what the constitution declares against what is measured in practice. The two values are always shown together — a gap on its own is easy to misread.

Declared in the constitutionPracticed (measured)Falls short / exceeds
0255075100Right to life — declared 100%, practiced 75%, gap −25%Right to life100%75%−25%Freedom from torture — declared 100%, practiced 66%, gap −34%Freedom from torture100%66%−34%Freedom from slavery and forced labour — declared 75%, practiced 71%, gap −4%Freedom from slavery and forced labour75%71%−4%Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) — declared 100%, practiced 54%, gap −46%Freedom from arbitrary detention (ha…100%54%−46%Right to a fair and public trial — declared 100%, practiced 60%, gap −40%Right to a fair and public trial100%60%−40%Presumption of innocence — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Presumption of innocenceno practice measure100%——Right to legal counsel — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to legal counselno practice measure100%——Protection from self-incrimination — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from self-incriminationno practice measure100%——Protection from double jeopardy — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from double jeopardyno practice measure100%——Due process of law — declared 100%, practiced 61%, gap −39%Due process of law100%61%−39%Trial by jury or lay participation — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Trial by jury or lay participationno practice measure0%——Freedom of expression — declared 100%, practiced 71%, gap −29%Freedom of expression100%71%−29%Freedom of the press — declared 100%, practiced 65%, gap −35%Freedom of the press100%65%−35%Freedom of thought and conscience — declared 100%, practiced 73%, gap −27%Freedom of thought and conscience100%73%−27%Freedom of religion — declared 100%, practiced 86%, gap −14%Freedom of religion100%86%−14%Separation of religion and state — declared 50%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Separation of religion and stateno practice measure50%——Academic freedom — declared 0%, practiced 72%, gap +72%Academic freedom0%72%+72%Freedom of assembly — declared 100%, practiced 59%, gap −41%Freedom of assembly100%59%−41%Freedom of association — declared 100%, practiced 82%, gap −18%Freedom of association100%82%−18%Right to petition government — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to petition governmentno practice measure0%——Right to form and join trade unions — declared 50%, practiced 77%, gap +27%Right to form and join trade unions50%77%+27%Right to vote and universal suffrage — declared 50%, practiced 78%, gap +28%Right to vote and universal suffrage50%78%+28%Right to privacy — declared 100%, practiced 88%, gap −12%Right to privacy100%88%−12%Freedom of movement — declared 100%, practiced 90%, gap −10%Freedom of movement100%90%−10%Right to asylum — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to asylumno practice measure0%——Right to own property — declared 13%, practiced 75%, gap +63%Right to own property13%75%+63%Equality before the law — declared 100%, practiced 76%, gap −24%Equality before the law100%76%−24%Right to education — declared 0%, practiced 45%, gap +45%Right to education0%45%+45%Right to health care — declared 50%, practiced 47%, gap −3%Right to health care50%47%−3%Right to shelter or housing — declared 50%, practiced 47%, gap −3%Right to shelter or housing50%47%−3%Independent judiciary — declared 100%, practiced 73%, gap −27%Independent judiciary100%73%−27%Right to bear arms — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to bear armsno practice measure0%——decl.prac.gap

· marks a right with no provision in that country’s constitution. Scores run 0–100; practiced values are V-Dem indicators normalized across all country-years.

Promise and practice over time

The declared line steps when the constitution changes. The practiced line moves when behaviour does. The distance between those two moments is the part worth looking at.

Declared (the text)Practiced (measured)The text changed
0501001973: constitutional text changed (+5 pts declared)1991: constitutional text changed (+8 pts declared)197019801990200020102020

Mean across the 23 rights measured on both sides, 1964–2023. Vertical marks show years when the constitutional text changed enough to move the declared score.

Promised, but not delivered

  • Right to life −25%
  • Freedom from torture −34%
  • Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) −46%
  • Right to a fair and public trial −40%

Delivered, though never promised

  • Academic freedom +72%
  • Right to own property +63%
  • Right to education +45%

Declared internationally

A constitution is only one place a country makes promises. These are the nine core UN human rights treaties.

Civil & Political Rights (ICCPR)ratified 1984
Economic, Social & Cultural Rights (ICESCR)ratified 1984
Racial Discrimination (ICERD)ratified 1972
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)ratified 1985
Convention against Torture (CAT)ratified 1998
Rights of the Child (CRC)ratified 1991
Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)ratified 2010
Enforced Disappearance (CPED)ratified 2011
Migrant Workers (ICMW)no action

Compare with

AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAngolaArgentinaArmeniaAustraliaAzerbaijanBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBeninBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBrazilBulgariaBurkina FasoBurma/MyanmarBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaColombiaComorosCosta RicaCroatiaCubaCyprusDemocratic Republic of the CongoDenmarkDjiboutiDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEswatiniEthiopiaFijiFinlandFranceGabonGeorgiaGhanaGreeceGuatemalaGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyana

Data generated 2026-08-08.