Zambia projects 7% rise in spending in 2027 budget

LUSAKA, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Zambia's government projects a 7% rise in spending in next year's budget, the finance ministry said on Monday during public hearings ahead of the official budget presentation.

• Total expenditure is projected at 271.9 billion Zambian kwacha ($13.8 billion) next year

• Revenue is expected to increase by about 6% to 218.6 billion kwacha

• Next year's borrowing is seen at 44.9 billion kwacha, 37.3 billion of which is domestic and 7.7 billion external. That is up from 34.5 billion of borrowing this year

• Economic growth is expected to reach 5.3% this year, below the 6.4% projection made when the 2026 budget was presented a year ago

• Copper output is expected to rise to 1.08 million metric tons in 2027, 1.25 million tons in 2028 and 1.40 million tons in 2029. Copper output was 890,346 metric tons in 2025, missing the target of 1 million tons

($1 = 19.7000 Zambian kwacha)