Many government programs supported by the Government of Zambia and world donor organizations are designed to alleviate poverty. Accordingly it is important for assistance program design, implementation, and evaluation to have a clear and accurate concept of this condition and its prevalence. This paper indentifies the extent of poverty in Zambia and reports a profile of low-income households that might be used for tarteting assistance programs to the poort. The data used to extimate poverty levels come from the Zambian Household Expenditurea nd Incomes Survey (HEIS) conducted in June 1991.