The National Long Term Vision 2030 is Zambia's first ever written long-term plan, expressing Zambians’ aspirations by the year 2030. It articulates possible long-term alternative development policy scenarios at different points which would contribute to the attainment of the desirable social economic indicators by the year 2030. The Vision will be operationalised through the five year development plans starting with the Fifth National Development Plan (2006 2010) and annual budgets. This marks a departure from past practice of preparing and implementing medium-term plans that were not anchored on a national vision.

The Zambian people’s vision is to become “A Prosperous Middle Income Nation by 2030”.  By 2030, Zambians, aspire to live in a strong and dynamic middle-income industrial nation that provides opportunities for improving the well being of all, embodying values of socioeconomic justice, underpinned by the principles of: 

1. Gender responsive sustainable development;
2. Democracy;
3. Respect for human rights;
4. Good traditional and family values;
5. Positive attitude towards work;
6. Peaceful coexistence and;
7. Private-public partnerships.

Zambians also aspire for a common and shared destiny, united in diversity, equitably integrated and democratic in governance, promoting patriotism and ethnic integration. Further, the nation should have devolved political systems and structures while retaining the roots and positive aspects of their own mould of social, cultural and moral values. This Vision was a result of a nation-wide consultative process involving various stakeholders who included among others traditional leaders, civil society, government departments, cooperating partners and ordinary citizens.

The Vision highlights three scenarios outlining development options, namely the baseline, the preferred and the optimistic. The socio-economic development objectives enshrined in the Preferred Scenario are: to attain and sustain annual real growth of 6 percent (2006-2010), 8 percent (2011-2015), 9 percent (2016-2020), and 10 percent between 2021 and 2030; to attain and maintain a moderate inflation rate of 5 percent; to reduce national poverty head count to less than 20 percent of the population; to reduce income inequalities measured by a Gini coefficient of less than 40; to provide secure access to safe potable water sources and improved sanitation facilities to 100 percent of the population in both urban and rural areas; to attain education for all; and, to provide equitable access to quality health care to all by 2030.