The Board of the Zambia Statistics Agency (ZamStats) has appointed Ms. Sheila S. Mudenda as the new Statistician-General, effective March 26, 2026.
Ms. Mudenda is a seasoned statistics professional with more than 33 years of experience in demography, applied statistics and research.
She has served as Acting Statistician-General for nearly two years, during which she led teams in the production and promotion of official statistics across the National Statistical System.
She joined the institution in 1993 when it was known as the Central Statistical Office as a Statistician in the Population and Demography Division and rose through the ranks to Assistant Director for Information, Research and Dissemination.
She later assumed the role of Acting Statistician-General in October 2024.
Throughout her career, Ms. Mudenda has held several senior roles at national and regional levels.
She has been actively involved in the development, coordination and implementation of the Statistics Act and Zambia’s Second National Strategy for the Development of Statistics.
She also coordinated reporting and monitoring of the Sustainable Development Goals, including overseeing the production of the SDGs Indicator Framework and the 2013–2014 Zambia Demographic and Health Survey.
At regional level, she served as the SHaSA2 National Coordinator, where she facilitated the production and use of harmonised statistics across Africa.
Ms. Mudenda holds a Master of Arts Degree in Population and Development from the Institute of Social Studies in the Netherlands, a Master of Research Methods Degree from the University Institute for International and European Studies, also in the Netherlands, and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Demography from the University of Zambia.
Board Chairperson Oliver J.M. Chinganya said the Board is confident in Ms. Mudenda’s ability to lead the ZamStats management team in strengthening the collection, compilation, analysis and dissemination of official statistics for evidence-based decision-making and national development.
He says her leadership will be key to achieving ZamStats’ vision of becoming a credible and innovative provider of official statistics.
By Rachel Mumba
