WorldRisk

Which passport do you hold?

Risk to a traveller depends on their nationality. A country that sanctions your destination, or is sanctioned by it, changes how you are treated on arrival. Choosing here adjusts every score on the site.

We hold travel advice written for four nationalities so far. Selecting anything else shows the neutral baseline, and every page says so where it applies rather than presenting it as an assessment made for you.

Kept in your browser only. Nothing is sent anywhere, and you can change it at any time from the header.

All countries

Zambia

37Caution37 of 100, Caution band, 25 to 49good confidence(7/7 dimensions)
What this score means
Extreme75 to 100
Severe and systematic. Device search, interception and detention over online activity are documented rather than theoretical. Reconsider what you carry and what you say.
High50 to 74
Substantial and consistently evidenced measures. Device inspection, monitored networks or restricted services should be expected rather than treated as unlikely.
Caution25 to 49
Some risk, and manageable with precautions. Measures are evidenced but are narrow, inconsistently applied, or the picture is mixed.
Low0 to 24
Ordinary precautions. No systematic device search, network restriction or prosecution of visitors for online speech is evidenced.

Government travel advice is written for one citizenry, so the same country carries a different assessment depending on your passport. Change it in the header.

Showing the baseline, which weights every issuer equally. No government in our corpus publishes travel advice written for you, so this is not addressed to you specifically.

Dimensions

Each dimension is scored independently, because the traveller who cares about legal exposure for what they have posted is often not the one carrying client data. Higher means more risk.

Speech and legal exposure

What legal risk attaches to what I have said online, or say while I am there?

58High58 of 100, High band, 50 to 74

good confidence8 independent sources

Why this score (11 sources)

Report an inaccuracy (corrections need a link to the reporting, statute or research that shows it).

Surveillance and interception

How comprehensively are communications intercepted, retained, and monitored, and is commercial spyware in use?

57High57 of 100, High band, 50 to 74

good confidence6 independent sourcesEvidence is ageing: contributing sources are weighted at 65% of full strength.

Why this score (8 sources)

  • Freedom House 2026 scored ZMB 2 of 4 on freedom to express personal views on sensitive topics without fear of surveillance or retribution.

    Freedom House, Freedom in the World · observed 2026-01-01

  • V-Dem Digital Society Project 2025 scored ZMB 2.40 of 4 on how comprehensively the government monitors social media and private online communication, where higher is freer.

    V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg, Digital Society Project · observed 2025-12-31

  • V-Dem Digital Society Project 2025 scored ZMB 3.46 of 4 on how far privacy protection law shields communications from government access, where higher is freer. This measures what privacy law permits rather than what monitoring is practised, so it is read here as a constraint on interception rather than a measurement of it.

    V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg, Digital Society Project · observed 2025-12-31

  • The World Justice Project Rule of Law Index 2025 scored ZMB 0.22 of 1 on whether freedom from arbitrary interference with privacy is effectively guaranteed, a measure built from expert assessments of warrantless interception of communications.

    World Justice Project, Rule of Law Index, sub-factor 4.6 · observed 2025-01-01

  • Similarly, the establishment of the Central Monitoring and Coordination Centre under section 21 (Part V) of the Cyber Security Act , with powers to lawfully intercept communications, raises red flags.

    CIPESA, via a site scoped search · observed 2025-05-19 · extracted by language model

  • Among other provisions, the legislation requires Information and Communication Technology (ICT) companies to proactively intercept all electronic communications.

    MyJoyOnline, via a site scoped search · observed 2025-04-17 · extracted by language model

  • Overly broad surveillance powers: Law enforcement is granted broad interception powers including real-time data collection and communication interception and extensive search-and-seizure powers.

    CIPESA, via a site scoped search · observed 2024-12-13 · extracted by language model

  • For instance, the proposed surveillance measures under Parts V and VIII could enable mass data collection by the State without judicial oversight, creating risks of abuse and eroding public trust.

    TechAfrica News, via a site scoped search · observed 2024-12-09 · extracted by language model

Report an inaccuracy (corrections need a link to the reporting, statute or research that shows it).

Network threat

How hostile is the network environment to a foreign visitor, from state actors and criminals alike?

47Caution47 of 100, Caution band, 25 to 49

good confidence5 independent sourcesEvidence is ageing: contributing sources are weighted at 50% of full strength.

Why this score (6 sources)

  • ITU Global Cybersecurity Index 2024, Technical pillar: 17.62 of 20.

    International Telecommunication Union, Global Cybersecurity Index · observed 2024-12-31

  • Freedom House scored Zambia 16 of 25 on obstacles to access in Freedom on the Net, a category covering state control over internet infrastructure and gateways, regulatory and ownership control over service providers, and the independence of the regulator.

    Freedom House, Freedom on the Net, obstacles to access · observed 2025-01-01

  • The Zambian Government is accelerating digital transformation across sectors and responding to the need for a country’s robust cybersecurity landscape to address high – profile cyberattacks in order to address and curb growing vulnerability to digital threats says Technology and Science Minister Hon Felix Mutati.

    TechAfrica News, via a site scoped search · observed 2024-11-05 · extracted by language model

  • For Zambia, the requirement for cybersecurity awareness has never been more strongly than in the present context, when the country is embracing digital technologies and threats are becoming increasingly complex in nature.

    News Diggers, via a site scoped search · observed 2024-10-05 · extracted by language model

  • Criminals can compromise public Wi-Fi networks in order to steal personal data or credit information.

    Global Affairs Canada, Travel advice and advisories · observed 2026-10-16 · written for CAN nationals · extracted by language model

  • THE Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA) says its efforts to combat cybercrime have been frustrated by people who warn scammers that they will report them to the authority for sending scam messages.

    News Diggers, via a site scoped search · observed 2024-04-17 · extracted by language model

Report an inaccuracy (corrections need a link to the reporting, statute or research that shows it).

2 excluded sources
  • MyJoyOnline, via a site scoped search, observed 2024-06-09: aged out after 2 years.
  • MyJoyOnline, via a site scoped search, observed 2024-06-06: aged out after 2 years.

Encryption and VPN legality

Are VPNs and strong encryption lawful, and can I be required to install an application or hand over keys?

33Caution33 of 100, Caution band, 25 to 49

moderate confidence3 independent sources

Why this score (3 sources)

  • Some restrictions. The law in Zambia requires that anyone providing cryptograph services or products be registered with the Communications Authority. Provision of cryptograph services or productions without registration is a criminal offence, punishable by imprisonment, a fine or both. It is also a criminal offence of using encryption to obstruct or impede a law enforcement officer, or to interfere with the performance by a law enforcement officer, punishable by imprisonment and/or a fine.

    Global Partners Digital, World Map of Encryption Laws and Policies · observed 2019-06-01

  • V-Dem Digital Society Project 2025 scored ZMB 2.09 of 4 on whether the government regulates the internet in a way consistent with international human rights standards, where higher is freer. This does not establish whether encryption or VPN use is lawful. It measures internet regulation in general, and is used as indirect evidence because the only survey that reads encryption law directly was published in 2019.

    V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg, Digital Society Project · observed 2025-12-31

  • OONI recorded no confirmed blocking across 43,736 measurements of anonymity and censorship circumvention tools in ZMB over the 90 days to 2026-10-16, with 1,024 further results inconclusive.

    Open Observatory of Network Interference, OONI measurement data · observed 2026-10-16

Report an inaccuracy (corrections need a link to the reporting, statute or research that shows it).

Border device risk

How likely is my device to be searched, imaged, or seized at the border, and can I be compelled to unlock it?

31Caution31 of 100, Caution band, 25 to 49

good confidence6 independent sourcesEvidence is ageing: contributing sources are weighted at 66% of full strength.

Why this score (6 sources)

Report an inaccuracy (corrections need a link to the reporting, statute or research that shows it).

Data jurisdiction

What happens to corporate or client data I carry into the jurisdiction?

19Low19 of 100, Low band, 0 to 24

moderate confidence1 independent source

Why this score (1 source)

Report an inaccuracy (corrections need a link to the reporting, statute or research that shows it).

Connectivity continuity

How likely am I to lose access to the internet, or to the specific tools I depend on?

17Low17 of 100, Low band, 0 to 24

good confidence7 independent sources

Why this score (14 sources)

Report an inaccuracy (corrections need a link to the reporting, statute or research that shows it).

2 excluded sources
  • Paradigm Initiative, via a site scoped search, observed 2021-07-01: aged out after 5 years.
  • Committee to Protect Journalists, via a site scoped search, observed 2021-07-01: aged out after 5 years.

Trend

02550751002026-08-162026-10-16

The overall score is up 8.0 points over 61 days, from 29.2 to 37.2. Most movement is the event overlay decaying rather than anything happening: a news signal loses half its weight every three weeks, so a score drifts back toward its structural baseline on its own. A step that holds is the one worth reading.

Check this yourself

These are not inputs to the score for Zambia. They are where to look if you want to test what is above against something we did not use.

Sources

This assessment draws on 17 sources: Auswärtiges Amt, Reise- und Sicherheitshinweise; CIPESA, via a site scoped search; CIVICUS Monitor country updates; Freedom House, Freedom in the World; Freedom House, Freedom on the Net, obstacles to access; Georgia Tech Internet Intelligence Lab, Internet Outage Detection and Analysis; Global Affairs Canada, Travel advice and advisories; Global Partners Digital, World Map of Encryption Laws and Policies; International Telecommunication Union, Global Cybersecurity Index; MyJoyOnline, via a site scoped search; News Diggers, via a site scoped search; Open Observatory of Network Interference, OONI measurement data; TechAfrica News, via a site scoped search; UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Foreign travel advice; US Department of State, Travel Advisories; V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg, Digital Society Project; World Justice Project, Rule of Law Index, sub-factor 4.6. Every contributing claim is quoted with its origin and date above. Model version 0.12.0, computed 2026-10-16.

If something here is wrong, say so. Corrections are handled in public, and we correct because the evidence is wrong, not because someone objects.