diff --git a/Lib/distutils/tests/test_archive_util.py b/Lib/distutils/tests/test_archive_util.py
index 8aec84078ed48f..fd8a96906ade65 100644
--- a/Lib/distutils/tests/test_archive_util.py
+++ b/Lib/distutils/tests/test_archive_util.py
@@ -30,11 +30,7 @@
 except ImportError:
     ZIP_SUPPORT = find_executable('zip')
 
-try:
-    import zlib
-    ZLIB_SUPPORT = True
-except ImportError:
-    ZLIB_SUPPORT = False
+import zlib
 
 try:
     import bz2
@@ -63,7 +59,6 @@ class ArchiveUtilTestCase(support.TempdirManager,
                           support.LoggingSilencer,
                           unittest.TestCase):
 
-    @unittest.skipUnless(ZLIB_SUPPORT, 'Need zlib support to run')
     def test_make_tarball(self, name='archive'):
         # creating something to tar
         tmpdir = self._create_files()
@@ -71,7 +66,6 @@ def test_make_tarball(self, name='archive'):
         # trying an uncompressed one
         self._make_tarball(tmpdir, name, '.tar', compress=None)
 
-    @unittest.skipUnless(ZLIB_SUPPORT, 'Need zlib support to run')
     def test_make_tarball_gzip(self):
         tmpdir = self._create_files()
         self._make_tarball(tmpdir, 'archive', '.tar.gz', compress='gzip')
@@ -144,9 +138,8 @@ def _create_files(self):
         os.mkdir(os.path.join(dist, 'sub2'))
         return tmpdir
 
-    @unittest.skipUnless(find_executable('tar') and find_executable('gzip')
-                         and ZLIB_SUPPORT,
-                         'Need the tar, gzip and zlib command to run')
+    @unittest.skipUnless(find_executable('tar') and find_executable('gzip'),
+                         'Need the tar and gzip commands to run')
     def test_tarfile_vs_tar(self):
         tmpdir =  self._create_files()
         tmpdir2 = self.mkdtemp()
@@ -234,8 +227,7 @@ def test_compress_deprecated(self):
         self.assertFalse(os.path.exists(tarball))
         self.assertEqual(len(w.warnings), 1)
 
-    @unittest.skipUnless(ZIP_SUPPORT and ZLIB_SUPPORT,
-                         'Need zip and zlib support to run')
+    @unittest.skipUnless(ZIP_SUPPORT, 'Need zip support to run')
     def test_make_zipfile(self):
         # creating something to tar
         tmpdir = self._create_files()
@@ -249,32 +241,6 @@ def test_make_zipfile(self):
         with zipfile.ZipFile(tarball) as zf:
             self.assertEqual(sorted(zf.namelist()), self._zip_created_files)
 
-    @unittest.skipUnless(ZIP_SUPPORT, 'Need zip support to run')
-    def test_make_zipfile_no_zlib(self):
-        patch(self, archive_util.zipfile, 'zlib', None)  # force zlib ImportError
-
-        called = []
-        zipfile_class = zipfile.ZipFile
-        def fake_zipfile(*a, **kw):
-            if kw.get('compression', None) == zipfile.ZIP_STORED:
-                called.append((a, kw))
-            return zipfile_class(*a, **kw)
-
-        patch(self, archive_util.zipfile, 'ZipFile', fake_zipfile)
-
-        # create something to tar and compress
-        tmpdir = self._create_files()
-        base_name = os.path.join(self.mkdtemp(), 'archive')
-        with change_cwd(tmpdir):
-            make_zipfile(base_name, 'dist')
-
-        tarball = base_name + '.zip'
-        self.assertEqual(called,
-                         [((tarball, "w"), {'compression': zipfile.ZIP_STORED})])
-        self.assertTrue(os.path.exists(tarball))
-        with zipfile.ZipFile(tarball) as zf:
-            self.assertEqual(sorted(zf.namelist()), self._zip_created_files)
-
     def test_check_archive_formats(self):
         self.assertEqual(check_archive_formats(['gztar', 'xxx', 'zip']),
                          'xxx')
@@ -308,7 +274,6 @@ def test_make_archive_tar(self):
         self.assertEqual(os.path.basename(res), 'archive.tar')
         self.assertEqual(self._tarinfo(res), self._created_files)
 
-    @unittest.skipUnless(ZLIB_SUPPORT, 'Need zlib support to run')
     def test_make_archive_gztar(self):
         base_dir =  self._create_files()
         base_name = os.path.join(self.mkdtemp() , 'archive')
@@ -362,7 +327,6 @@ def test_make_archive_owner_group(self):
                            owner='kjhkjhkjg', group='oihohoh')
         self.assertTrue(os.path.exists(res))
 
-    @unittest.skipUnless(ZLIB_SUPPORT, "Requires zlib")
     @unittest.skipUnless(UID_GID_SUPPORT, "Requires grp and pwd support")
     def test_tarfile_root_owner(self):
         tmpdir =  self._create_files()
diff --git a/Lib/distutils/tests/test_bdist_dumb.py b/Lib/distutils/tests/test_bdist_dumb.py
index bb860c8ac70345..181ea6fd20256c 100644
--- a/Lib/distutils/tests/test_bdist_dumb.py
+++ b/Lib/distutils/tests/test_bdist_dumb.py
@@ -2,8 +2,9 @@
 
 import os
 import sys
-import zipfile
 import unittest
+import zipfile
+import zlib
 from test.support import run_unittest
 
 from distutils.core import Distribution
@@ -19,11 +20,6 @@
 
 """
 
-try:
-    import zlib
-    ZLIB_SUPPORT = True
-except ImportError:
-    ZLIB_SUPPORT = False
 
 
 class BuildDumbTestCase(support.TempdirManager,
@@ -42,7 +38,6 @@ def tearDown(self):
         sys.argv[:] = self.old_sys_argv[1]
         super(BuildDumbTestCase, self).tearDown()
 
-    @unittest.skipUnless(ZLIB_SUPPORT, 'Need zlib support to run')
     def test_simple_built(self):
 
         # let's create a simple package
diff --git a/Lib/distutils/tests/test_bdist_rpm.py b/Lib/distutils/tests/test_bdist_rpm.py
index f1eb9ba4493828..f3743900ae87b6 100644
--- a/Lib/distutils/tests/test_bdist_rpm.py
+++ b/Lib/distutils/tests/test_bdist_rpm.py
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 import unittest
 import sys
 import os
-from test.support import run_unittest, requires_zlib
+from test.support import run_unittest
 
 from distutils.core import Distribution
 from distutils.command.bdist_rpm import bdist_rpm
@@ -44,7 +44,6 @@ def tearDown(self):
     # spurious sdtout/stderr output under Mac OS X
     @unittest.skipUnless(sys.platform.startswith('linux'),
                          'spurious sdtout/stderr output under Mac OS X')
-    @requires_zlib()
     @unittest.skipIf(find_executable('rpm') is None,
                      'the rpm command is not found')
     @unittest.skipIf(find_executable('rpmbuild') is None,
@@ -87,7 +86,6 @@ def test_quiet(self):
     # spurious sdtout/stderr output under Mac OS X
     @unittest.skipUnless(sys.platform.startswith('linux'),
                          'spurious sdtout/stderr output under Mac OS X')
-    @requires_zlib()
     # http://bugs.python.org/issue1533164
     @unittest.skipIf(find_executable('rpm') is None,
                      'the rpm command is not found')
diff --git a/Lib/distutils/tests/test_sdist.py b/Lib/distutils/tests/test_sdist.py
index 46b3a13e470c4e..e75916debb4114 100644
--- a/Lib/distutils/tests/test_sdist.py
+++ b/Lib/distutils/tests/test_sdist.py
@@ -4,17 +4,12 @@
 import unittest
 import warnings
 import zipfile
+import zlib
 from os.path import join
 from textwrap import dedent
 from test.support import captured_stdout, run_unittest
 from test.support.warnings_helper import check_warnings
 
-try:
-    import zlib
-    ZLIB_SUPPORT = True
-except ImportError:
-    ZLIB_SUPPORT = False
-
 try:
     import grp
     import pwd
@@ -88,7 +83,6 @@ def get_cmd(self, metadata=None):
         cmd.dist_dir = 'dist'
         return dist, cmd
 
-    @unittest.skipUnless(ZLIB_SUPPORT, 'Need zlib support to run')
     def test_prune_file_list(self):
         # this test creates a project with some VCS dirs and an NFS rename
         # file, then launches sdist to check they get pruned on all systems
@@ -133,7 +127,6 @@ def test_prune_file_list(self):
                     'somecode/', 'somecode/__init__.py']
         self.assertEqual(sorted(content), ['fake-1.0/' + x for x in expected])
 
-    @unittest.skipUnless(ZLIB_SUPPORT, 'Need zlib support to run')
     @unittest.skipIf(find_executable('tar') is None,
                      "The tar command is not found")
     @unittest.skipIf(find_executable('gzip') is None,
@@ -166,7 +159,6 @@ def test_make_distribution(self):
         result.sort()
         self.assertEqual(result, ['fake-1.0.tar', 'fake-1.0.tar.gz'])
 
-    @unittest.skipUnless(ZLIB_SUPPORT, 'Need zlib support to run')
     def test_add_defaults(self):
 
         # http://bugs.python.org/issue2279
@@ -245,7 +237,6 @@ def test_add_defaults(self):
             f.close()
         self.assertEqual(manifest, MANIFEST % {'sep': os.sep})
 
-    @unittest.skipUnless(ZLIB_SUPPORT, 'Need zlib support to run')
     def test_metadata_check_option(self):
         # testing the `medata-check` option
         dist, cmd = self.get_cmd(metadata={})
@@ -332,7 +323,6 @@ def test_invalid_template_wrong_path(self):
         # this used to crash instead of raising a warning: #8286
         self._check_template('include examples/')
 
-    @unittest.skipUnless(ZLIB_SUPPORT, 'Need zlib support to run')
     def test_get_file_list(self):
         # make sure MANIFEST is recalculated
         dist, cmd = self.get_cmd()
@@ -374,7 +364,6 @@ def test_get_file_list(self):
         self.assertEqual(len(manifest2), 6)
         self.assertIn('doc2.txt', manifest2[-1])
 
-    @unittest.skipUnless(ZLIB_SUPPORT, 'Need zlib support to run')
     def test_manifest_marker(self):
         # check that autogenerated MANIFESTs have a marker
         dist, cmd = self.get_cmd()
@@ -391,7 +380,6 @@ def test_manifest_marker(self):
         self.assertEqual(manifest[0],
                          '# file GENERATED by distutils, do NOT edit')
 
-    @unittest.skipUnless(ZLIB_SUPPORT, "Need zlib support to run")
     def test_manifest_comments(self):
         # make sure comments don't cause exceptions or wrong includes
         contents = dedent("""\
@@ -408,7 +396,6 @@ def test_manifest_comments(self):
         cmd.run()
         self.assertEqual(cmd.filelist.files, ['good.py'])
 
-    @unittest.skipUnless(ZLIB_SUPPORT, 'Need zlib support to run')
     def test_manual_manifest(self):
         # check that a MANIFEST without a marker is left alone
         dist, cmd = self.get_cmd()
@@ -438,7 +425,6 @@ def test_manual_manifest(self):
         self.assertEqual(sorted(filenames), ['fake-1.0', 'fake-1.0/PKG-INFO',
                                              'fake-1.0/README.manual'])
 
-    @unittest.skipUnless(ZLIB_SUPPORT, "requires zlib")
     @unittest.skipUnless(UID_GID_SUPPORT, "Requires grp and pwd support")
     @unittest.skipIf(find_executable('tar') is None,
                      "The tar command is not found")
diff --git a/Lib/encodings/zlib_codec.py b/Lib/encodings/zlib_codec.py
index 95908a4b4a13a1..25acfba1c01483 100644
--- a/Lib/encodings/zlib_codec.py
+++ b/Lib/encodings/zlib_codec.py
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 """
 
 import codecs
-import zlib # this codec needs the optional zlib module !
+import zlib
 
 ### Codec APIs
 
diff --git a/Lib/shutil.py b/Lib/shutil.py
index 22bd86d569e7ed..1c0945837cd601 100644
--- a/Lib/shutil.py
+++ b/Lib/shutil.py
@@ -10,13 +10,7 @@
 import fnmatch
 import collections
 import errno
-
-try:
-    import zlib
-    del zlib
-    _ZLIB_SUPPORTED = True
-except ImportError:
-    _ZLIB_SUPPORTED = False
+import zlib
 
 try:
     import bz2
@@ -911,7 +905,7 @@ def _make_tarball(base_name, base_dir, compress="gzip", verbose=0, dry_run=0,
     """
     if compress is None:
         tar_compression = ''
-    elif _ZLIB_SUPPORTED and compress == 'gzip':
+    elif compress == 'gzip':
         tar_compression = 'gz'
     elif _BZ2_SUPPORTED and compress == 'bzip2':
         tar_compression = 'bz2'
@@ -1006,10 +1000,9 @@ def _make_zipfile(base_name, base_dir, verbose=0, dry_run=0, logger=None):
     'tar':   (_make_tarball, [('compress', None)], "uncompressed tar file"),
 }
 
-if _ZLIB_SUPPORTED:
-    _ARCHIVE_FORMATS['gztar'] = (_make_tarball, [('compress', 'gzip')],
-                                "gzip'ed tar-file")
-    _ARCHIVE_FORMATS['zip'] = (_make_zipfile, [], "ZIP file")
+_ARCHIVE_FORMATS['gztar'] = (_make_tarball, [('compress', 'gzip')],
+                            "gzip'ed tar-file")
+_ARCHIVE_FORMATS['zip'] = (_make_zipfile, [], "ZIP file")
 
 if _BZ2_SUPPORTED:
     _ARCHIVE_FORMATS['bztar'] = (_make_tarball, [('compress', 'bzip2')],
@@ -1217,12 +1210,9 @@ def _unpack_tarfile(filename, extract_dir):
 _UNPACK_FORMATS = {
     'tar':   (['.tar'], _unpack_tarfile, [], "uncompressed tar file"),
     'zip':   (['.zip'], _unpack_zipfile, [], "ZIP file"),
+    'gztar': (['.tar.gz', '.tgz'], _unpack_tarfile, [], "gzip'ed tar-file"),
 }
 
-if _ZLIB_SUPPORTED:
-    _UNPACK_FORMATS['gztar'] = (['.tar.gz', '.tgz'], _unpack_tarfile, [],
-                                "gzip'ed tar-file")
-
 if _BZ2_SUPPORTED:
     _UNPACK_FORMATS['bztar'] = (['.tar.bz2', '.tbz2'], _unpack_tarfile, [],
                                 "bzip2'ed tar-file")
diff --git a/Lib/tarfile.py b/Lib/tarfile.py
index 8d43d0da7b9880..f96be649fbe5d0 100755
--- a/Lib/tarfile.py
+++ b/Lib/tarfile.py
@@ -361,10 +361,7 @@ def __init__(self, name, mode, comptype, fileobj, bufsize):
 
         try:
             if comptype == "gz":
-                try:
-                    import zlib
-                except ImportError:
-                    raise CompressionError("zlib module is not available") from None
+                import zlib
                 self.zlib = zlib
                 self.crc = zlib.crc32(b"")
                 if mode == "r":
@@ -2359,13 +2356,10 @@ def next(self):
             except SubsequentHeaderError as e:
                 raise ReadError(str(e)) from None
             except Exception as e:
-                try:
-                    import zlib
-                    if isinstance(e, zlib.error):
-                        raise ReadError(f'zlib error: {e}') from None
-                    else:
-                        raise e
-                except ImportError:
+                import zlib
+                if isinstance(e, zlib.error):
+                    raise ReadError(f'zlib error: {e}') from None
+                else:
                     raise e
             break
 
diff --git a/Lib/test/pythoninfo.py b/Lib/test/pythoninfo.py
index d15a11c80b649a..f2d6dd6ce87ebc 100644
--- a/Lib/test/pythoninfo.py
+++ b/Lib/test/pythoninfo.py
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 """
 Collect various information about Python to help debugging test failures.
 """
-from __future__ import print_function
 import errno
 import re
 import sys
@@ -558,11 +557,7 @@ def collect_sqlite(info_add):
 
 
 def collect_zlib(info_add):
-    try:
-        import zlib
-    except ImportError:
-        return
-
+    import zlib
     attributes = ('ZLIB_VERSION', 'ZLIB_RUNTIME_VERSION')
     copy_attributes(info_add, zlib, 'zlib.%s', attributes)
 
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_codecs.py b/Lib/test/test_codecs.py
index 5853e088197153..8b4ec2bbc30a3f 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_codecs.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_codecs.py
@@ -2700,13 +2700,10 @@ def test_seek0(self):
     "rot_13": ["rot13"],
 }
 
-try:
-    import zlib
-except ImportError:
-    zlib = None
-else:
-    bytes_transform_encodings.append("zlib_codec")
-    transform_aliases["zlib_codec"] = ["zip", "zlib"]
+import zlib
+bytes_transform_encodings.append("zlib_codec")
+transform_aliases["zlib_codec"] = ["zip", "zlib"]
+
 try:
     import bz2
 except ImportError:
@@ -2807,7 +2804,6 @@ def test_binary_to_text_denylists_text_transforms(self):
                     bad_input.decode("rot_13")
                 self.assertIsNone(failure.exception.__cause__)
 
-    @unittest.skipUnless(zlib, "Requires zlib support")
     def test_custom_zlib_error_is_wrapped(self):
         # Check zlib codec gives a good error for malformed input
         msg = "^decoding with 'zlib_codec' codec failed"
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_importlib/fixtures.py b/Lib/test/test_importlib/fixtures.py
index 803d3738d263f4..df66ab316272db 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_importlib/fixtures.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_importlib/fixtures.py
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@
 import contextlib
 
 from test.support.os_helper import FS_NONASCII
-from test.support import requires_zlib
 from typing import Dict, Union
 
 try:
@@ -281,7 +280,6 @@ def find_module(self, name):
         pass
 
 
-@requires_zlib()
 class ZipFixtures:
     root = 'test.test_importlib.data'
 
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_logging.py b/Lib/test/test_logging.py
index be193dcdacf4f0..a03262d5b2fb68 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_logging.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_logging.py
@@ -70,10 +70,8 @@
 except ImportError:
     win32evtlog = win32evtlogutil = pywintypes = None
 
-try:
-    import zlib
-except ImportError:
-    pass
+import zlib
+
 
 class BaseTest(unittest.TestCase):
 
@@ -5311,7 +5309,6 @@ def rotator(self, source, dest):
         self.assertFalse(os.path.exists(rh.namer(self.fn + ".1")))
         rh.close()
 
-    @support.requires_zlib()
     def test_rotator(self):
         def namer(name):
             return name + ".gz"
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_sqlite3/test_types.py b/Lib/test/test_sqlite3/test_types.py
index 0cfb72c5f0999e..def4dc7fcd64c1 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_sqlite3/test_types.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_sqlite3/test_types.py
@@ -24,10 +24,7 @@
 import unittest
 import sqlite3 as sqlite
 import sys
-try:
-    import zlib
-except ImportError:
-    zlib = None
+import zlib
 
 from test import support
 
@@ -466,7 +463,6 @@ def test_adapt_alt(self):
         self.assertEqual(alt, sqlite.adapt(1., None, alt))
 
 
-@unittest.skipUnless(zlib, "requires zlib")
 class BinaryConverterTests(unittest.TestCase):
     def convert(s):
         return zlib.decompress(s)
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_tarfile.py b/Lib/test/test_tarfile.py
index 12850cd635e995..6980fbf8e7644f 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_tarfile.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_tarfile.py
@@ -15,14 +15,8 @@
 from test.support import script_helper
 
 # Check for our compression modules.
-try:
-    import gzip
-except ImportError:
-    gzip = None
-try:
-    import zlib
-except ImportError:
-    zlib = None
+import gzip
+import zlib
 try:
     import bz2
 except ImportError:
@@ -62,7 +56,6 @@ class TarTest:
     def mode(self):
         return self.prefix + self.suffix
 
-@support.requires_gzip()
 class GzipTest:
     tarname = gzipname
     suffix = 'gz'
@@ -722,7 +715,6 @@ def test_parallel_iteration(self):
                 self.assertEqual(m1.offset, m2.offset)
                 self.assertEqual(m1.get_info(), m2.get_info())
 
-    @unittest.skipIf(zlib is None, "requires zlib")
     def test_zlib_error_does_not_leak(self):
         # bpo-39039: tarfile.open allowed zlib exceptions to bubble up when
         # parsing certain types of invalid data
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_venv.py b/Lib/test/test_venv.py
index db812f21dbc562..f1d2467a55fab3 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_venv.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_venv.py
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
 import subprocess
 import sys
 import tempfile
-from test.support import (captured_stdout, captured_stderr, requires_zlib,
+from test.support import (captured_stdout, captured_stderr,
                           skip_if_broken_multiprocessing_synchronize, verbose,
                           requires_subprocess)
 from test.support.os_helper import (can_symlink, EnvironmentVarGuard, rmtree)
@@ -596,7 +596,6 @@ def do_test_with_pip(self, system_site_packages):
 
     # Issue #26610: pip/pep425tags.py requires ctypes
     @unittest.skipUnless(ctypes, 'pip requires ctypes')
-    @requires_zlib()
     def test_with_pip(self):
         self.do_test_with_pip(False)
         self.do_test_with_pip(True)
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_zipapp.py b/Lib/test/test_zipapp.py
index 69f2e55d563840..2df254660f402a 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_zipapp.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_zipapp.py
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@
 import unittest
 import zipapp
 import zipfile
-from test.support import requires_zlib
 
 from unittest.mock import patch
 
@@ -101,7 +100,6 @@ def test_create_archive_default_target(self):
         expected_target = self.tmpdir / 'source.pyz'
         self.assertTrue(expected_target.is_file())
 
-    @requires_zlib()
     def test_create_archive_with_compression(self):
         # Test packing a directory into a compressed archive.
         source = self.tmpdir / 'source'
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_zipfile.py b/Lib/test/test_zipfile.py
index 759a4abb9d4d4e..a832b902011a0b 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_zipfile.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_zipfile.py
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@
 from random import randint, random, randbytes
 
 from test.support import script_helper
-from test.support import (findfile, requires_zlib, requires_bz2,
+from test.support import (findfile, requires_bz2,
                           requires_lzma, captured_stdout, requires_subprocess)
 from test.support.os_helper import (
     TESTFN, unlink, rmtree, temp_dir, temp_cwd, fd_count
@@ -645,7 +645,6 @@ def test_add_file_after_2107(self):
             self.assertEqual(zinfo.date_time, (2107, 12, 31, 23, 59, 59))
 
 
-@requires_zlib()
 class DeflateTestsWithSourceFile(AbstractTestsWithSourceFile,
                                  unittest.TestCase):
     compression = zipfile.ZIP_DEFLATED
@@ -1080,7 +1079,6 @@ def test_generated_valid_zip64_extra(self):
                     self.assertEqual(zf.read(zinfo), expected_content)
 
 
-@requires_zlib()
 class DeflateTestZip64InSmallFiles(AbstractTestZip64InSmallFiles,
                                    unittest.TestCase):
     compression = zipfile.ZIP_DEFLATED
@@ -1133,7 +1131,6 @@ def test_issue44439(self):
 class StoredWriterTests(AbstractWriterTests, unittest.TestCase):
     compression = zipfile.ZIP_STORED
 
-@requires_zlib()
 class DeflateWriterTests(AbstractWriterTests, unittest.TestCase):
     compression = zipfile.ZIP_DEFLATED
 
@@ -1595,7 +1592,6 @@ def test_unsupported_version(self):
         self.assertRaises(NotImplementedError, zipfile.ZipFile,
                           io.BytesIO(data), 'r')
 
-    @requires_zlib()
     def test_read_unicode_filenames(self):
         # bug #10801
         fname = findfile('zip_cp437_header.zip')
@@ -2097,7 +2093,6 @@ class StoredBadCrcTests(AbstractBadCrcTests, unittest.TestCase):
         b'lePK\005\006\0\0\0\0\001\0\001\0003\000'
         b'\0\0/\0\0\0\0\0')
 
-@requires_zlib()
 class DeflateBadCrcTests(AbstractBadCrcTests, unittest.TestCase):
     compression = zipfile.ZIP_DEFLATED
     zip_with_bad_crc = (
@@ -2193,7 +2188,6 @@ def test_bad_password(self):
         self.zip2.setpassword(b"perl")
         self.assertRaises(RuntimeError, self.zip2.read, "zero")
 
-    @requires_zlib()
     def test_good_password(self):
         self.zip.setpassword(b"python")
         self.assertEqual(self.zip.read("test.txt"), self.plain)
@@ -2352,7 +2346,6 @@ class StoredTestsWithRandomBinaryFiles(AbstractTestsWithRandomBinaryFiles,
                                        unittest.TestCase):
     compression = zipfile.ZIP_STORED
 
-@requires_zlib()
 class DeflateTestsWithRandomBinaryFiles(AbstractTestsWithRandomBinaryFiles,
                                         unittest.TestCase):
     compression = zipfile.ZIP_DEFLATED
@@ -2450,7 +2443,6 @@ def test_open_write(self):
                     self.assertEqual(zipf.read('twos'), b'222')
 
 
-@requires_zlib()
 class TestsWithMultipleOpens(unittest.TestCase):
     @classmethod
     def setUpClass(cls):
@@ -2716,7 +2708,6 @@ def test_list_command(self):
                                   PYTHONIOENCODING='ascii:backslashreplace')
             self.assertEqual(out, expected)
 
-    @requires_zlib()
     def test_create_command(self):
         self.addCleanup(unlink, TESTFN)
         with open(TESTFN, 'w', encoding='utf-8') as f:
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_zipfile64.py b/Lib/test/test_zipfile64.py
index 0947013afbc6ed..dd3f460f598d1b 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_zipfile64.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_zipfile64.py
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@
 from tempfile import TemporaryFile
 
 from test.support import os_helper
-from test.support import requires_zlib
 
 TESTFN = os_helper.TESTFN
 TESTFN2 = TESTFN + "2"
@@ -75,7 +74,6 @@ def testStored(self):
             self.assertFalse(f.closed)
         self.zipTest(TESTFN2, zipfile.ZIP_STORED)
 
-    @requires_zlib()
     def testDeflated(self):
         # Try the temp file first.  If we do TESTFN2 first, then it hogs
         # gigabytes of disk space for the duration of the test.
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_zipimport.py b/Lib/test/test_zipimport.py
index 85dbf4d8f68eb6..2991a58dd75183 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_zipimport.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_zipimport.py
@@ -21,10 +21,7 @@
 import inspect
 import io
 from traceback import extract_tb, extract_stack, print_tb
-try:
-    import zlib
-except ImportError:
-    zlib = None
+import zlib
 
 test_src = """\
 def get_name():
@@ -774,7 +771,6 @@ def testLargestPossibleComment(self):
         self.doTest(".py", files, TESTMOD, comment=b"c" * ((1 << 16) - 1))
 
 
-@support.requires_zlib()
 class CompressedZipImportTestCase(UncompressedZipImportTestCase):
     compression = ZIP_DEFLATED
 
diff --git a/Lib/zipfile.py b/Lib/zipfile.py
index 385adc897317fd..3ddfafac43b4cf 100644
--- a/Lib/zipfile.py
+++ b/Lib/zipfile.py
@@ -17,13 +17,8 @@
 import time
 import contextlib
 import pathlib
-
-try:
-    import zlib # We may need its compression method
-    crc32 = zlib.crc32
-except ImportError:
-    zlib = None
-    crc32 = binascii.crc32
+import zlib
+crc32 = zlib.crc32
 
 try:
     import bz2 # We may need its compression method
@@ -687,12 +682,8 @@ def decompress(self, data):
 }
 
 def _check_compression(compression):
-    if compression == ZIP_STORED:
+    if compression in (ZIP_STORED, ZIP_DEFLATED):
         pass
-    elif compression == ZIP_DEFLATED:
-        if not zlib:
-            raise RuntimeError(
-                "Compression requires the (missing) zlib module")
     elif compression == ZIP_BZIP2:
         if not bz2:
             raise RuntimeError(
diff --git a/Lib/zipimport.py b/Lib/zipimport.py
index 25eaee9c0f291b..edbf1c6f05369c 100644
--- a/Lib/zipimport.py
+++ b/Lib/zipimport.py
@@ -554,9 +554,7 @@ def _read_directory(archive):
 
 _importing_zlib = False
 
-# Return the zlib.decompress function object, or NULL if zlib couldn't
-# be imported. The function is cached when found, so subsequent calls
-# don't import zlib again.
+# Return the zlib.decompress function object or raise an import error.
 def _get_decompress_func():
     global _importing_zlib
     if _importing_zlib:
@@ -568,9 +566,6 @@ def _get_decompress_func():
     _importing_zlib = True
     try:
         from zlib import decompress
-    except Exception:
-        _bootstrap._verbose_message('zipimport: zlib UNAVAILABLE')
-        raise ZipImportError("can't decompress data; zlib not available")
     finally:
         _importing_zlib = False
 
diff --git a/Modules/Setup.bootstrap.in b/Modules/Setup.bootstrap.in
index ec724978f319b4..1bfcb357480be1 100644
--- a/Modules/Setup.bootstrap.in
+++ b/Modules/Setup.bootstrap.in
@@ -22,6 +22,8 @@ _sre _sre.c
 _thread _threadmodule.c
 time timemodule.c
 _weakref _weakref.c
+# used by shutil
+zlib zlibmodule.c
 
 # commonly used core modules
 _abc _abc.c
diff --git a/Modules/Setup.stdlib.in b/Modules/Setup.stdlib.in
index 73f041eb2fba9f..6f0ce1ea079034 100644
--- a/Modules/Setup.stdlib.in
+++ b/Modules/Setup.stdlib.in
@@ -59,12 +59,11 @@
 # with ./configure --with-system-libmpdec
 @MODULE__DECIMAL_TRUE@_decimal _decimal/_decimal.c
 
-# compression libs and binascii (optional CRC32 from zlib)
+# compression libs and binascii (CRC32 from zlib)
 # bindings need -lbz2, -lz, or -llzma, respectively
 @MODULE_BINASCII_TRUE@binascii binascii.c
 @MODULE__BZ2_TRUE@_bz2 _bz2module.c
 @MODULE__LZMA_TRUE@_lzma _lzmamodule.c
-@MODULE_ZLIB_TRUE@zlib zlibmodule.c
 
 # dbm/gdbm
 # dbm needs either libndbm, libgdbm_compat, or libdb 5.x
diff --git a/Modules/binascii.c b/Modules/binascii.c
index afe49885491714..3f0678d0d97d0e 100644
--- a/Modules/binascii.c
+++ b/Modules/binascii.c
@@ -62,9 +62,7 @@
 #include "Python.h"
 #include "pycore_long.h"          // _PyLong_DigitValue
 #include "pycore_strhex.h"        // _Py_strhex_bytes_with_sep()
-#ifdef USE_ZLIB_CRC32
-#  include "zlib.h"
-#endif
+#include "zlib.h"                 // crc32()
 
 typedef struct binascii_state {
     PyObject *Error;
@@ -619,140 +617,6 @@ binascii_crc_hqx_impl(PyObject *module, Py_buffer *data, unsigned int crc)
     return PyLong_FromUnsignedLong(crc);
 }
 
-#ifndef USE_ZLIB_CRC32
-/*  Crc - 32 BIT ANSI X3.66 CRC checksum files
-    Also known as: ISO 3307
-**********************************************************************|
-*                                                                    *|
-* Demonstration program to compute the 32-bit CRC used as the frame  *|
-* check sequence in ADCCP (ANSI X3.66, also known as FIPS PUB 71     *|
-* and FED-STD-1003, the U.S. versions of CCITT's X.25 link-level     *|
-* protocol).  The 32-bit FCS was added via the Federal Register,     *|
-* 1 June 1982, p.23798.  I presume but don't know for certain that   *|
-* this polynomial is or will be included in CCITT V.41, which        *|
-* defines the 16-bit CRC (often called CRC-CCITT) polynomial.  FIPS  *|
-* PUB 78 says that the 32-bit FCS reduces otherwise undetected       *|
-* errors by a factor of 10^-5 over 16-bit FCS.                       *|
-*                                                                    *|
-**********************************************************************|
-
- Copyright (C) 1986 Gary S. Brown.  You may use this program, or
- code or tables extracted from it, as desired without restriction.
-
- First, the polynomial itself and its table of feedback terms.  The
- polynomial is
- X^32+X^26+X^23+X^22+X^16+X^12+X^11+X^10+X^8+X^7+X^5+X^4+X^2+X^1+X^0
- Note that we take it "backwards" and put the highest-order term in
- the lowest-order bit.  The X^32 term is "implied"; the LSB is the
- X^31 term, etc.  The X^0 term (usually shown as "+1") results in
- the MSB being 1.
-
- Note that the usual hardware shift register implementation, which
- is what we're using (we're merely optimizing it by doing eight-bit
- chunks at a time) shifts bits into the lowest-order term.  In our
- implementation, that means shifting towards the right.  Why do we
- do it this way?  Because the calculated CRC must be transmitted in
- order from highest-order term to lowest-order term.  UARTs transmit
- characters in order from LSB to MSB.  By storing the CRC this way,
- we hand it to the UART in the order low-byte to high-byte; the UART
- sends each low-bit to hight-bit; and the result is transmission bit
- by bit from highest- to lowest-order term without requiring any bit
- shuffling on our part.  Reception works similarly.
-
- The feedback terms table consists of 256, 32-bit entries.  Notes:
-
-  1. The table can be generated at runtime if desired; code to do so
-     is shown later.  It might not be obvious, but the feedback
-     terms simply represent the results of eight shift/xor opera-
-     tions for all combinations of data and CRC register values.
-
-  2. The CRC accumulation logic is the same for all CRC polynomials,
-     be they sixteen or thirty-two bits wide.  You simply choose the
-     appropriate table.  Alternatively, because the table can be
-     generated at runtime, you can start by generating the table for
-     the polynomial in question and use exactly the same "updcrc",
-     if your application needn't simultaneously handle two CRC
-     polynomials.  (Note, however, that XMODEM is strange.)
-
-  3. For 16-bit CRCs, the table entries need be only 16 bits wide;
-     of course, 32-bit entries work OK if the high 16 bits are zero.
-
-  4. The values must be right-shifted by eight bits by the "updcrc"
-     logic; the shift must be unsigned (bring in zeroes).  On some
-     hardware you could probably optimize the shift in assembler by
-     using byte-swap instructions.
-********************************************************************/
-
-static const unsigned int crc_32_tab[256] = {
-0x00000000U, 0x77073096U, 0xee0e612cU, 0x990951baU, 0x076dc419U,
-0x706af48fU, 0xe963a535U, 0x9e6495a3U, 0x0edb8832U, 0x79dcb8a4U,
-0xe0d5e91eU, 0x97d2d988U, 0x09b64c2bU, 0x7eb17cbdU, 0xe7b82d07U,
-0x90bf1d91U, 0x1db71064U, 0x6ab020f2U, 0xf3b97148U, 0x84be41deU,
-0x1adad47dU, 0x6ddde4ebU, 0xf4d4b551U, 0x83d385c7U, 0x136c9856U,
-0x646ba8c0U, 0xfd62f97aU, 0x8a65c9ecU, 0x14015c4fU, 0x63066cd9U,
-0xfa0f3d63U, 0x8d080df5U, 0x3b6e20c8U, 0x4c69105eU, 0xd56041e4U,
-0xa2677172U, 0x3c03e4d1U, 0x4b04d447U, 0xd20d85fdU, 0xa50ab56bU,
-0x35b5a8faU, 0x42b2986cU, 0xdbbbc9d6U, 0xacbcf940U, 0x32d86ce3U,
-0x45df5c75U, 0xdcd60dcfU, 0xabd13d59U, 0x26d930acU, 0x51de003aU,
-0xc8d75180U, 0xbfd06116U, 0x21b4f4b5U, 0x56b3c423U, 0xcfba9599U,
-0xb8bda50fU, 0x2802b89eU, 0x5f058808U, 0xc60cd9b2U, 0xb10be924U,
-0x2f6f7c87U, 0x58684c11U, 0xc1611dabU, 0xb6662d3dU, 0x76dc4190U,
-0x01db7106U, 0x98d220bcU, 0xefd5102aU, 0x71b18589U, 0x06b6b51fU,
-0x9fbfe4a5U, 0xe8b8d433U, 0x7807c9a2U, 0x0f00f934U, 0x9609a88eU,
-0xe10e9818U, 0x7f6a0dbbU, 0x086d3d2dU, 0x91646c97U, 0xe6635c01U,
-0x6b6b51f4U, 0x1c6c6162U, 0x856530d8U, 0xf262004eU, 0x6c0695edU,
-0x1b01a57bU, 0x8208f4c1U, 0xf50fc457U, 0x65b0d9c6U, 0x12b7e950U,
-0x8bbeb8eaU, 0xfcb9887cU, 0x62dd1ddfU, 0x15da2d49U, 0x8cd37cf3U,
-0xfbd44c65U, 0x4db26158U, 0x3ab551ceU, 0xa3bc0074U, 0xd4bb30e2U,
-0x4adfa541U, 0x3dd895d7U, 0xa4d1c46dU, 0xd3d6f4fbU, 0x4369e96aU,
-0x346ed9fcU, 0xad678846U, 0xda60b8d0U, 0x44042d73U, 0x33031de5U,
-0xaa0a4c5fU, 0xdd0d7cc9U, 0x5005713cU, 0x270241aaU, 0xbe0b1010U,
-0xc90c2086U, 0x5768b525U, 0x206f85b3U, 0xb966d409U, 0xce61e49fU,
-0x5edef90eU, 0x29d9c998U, 0xb0d09822U, 0xc7d7a8b4U, 0x59b33d17U,
-0x2eb40d81U, 0xb7bd5c3bU, 0xc0ba6cadU, 0xedb88320U, 0x9abfb3b6U,
-0x03b6e20cU, 0x74b1d29aU, 0xead54739U, 0x9dd277afU, 0x04db2615U,
-0x73dc1683U, 0xe3630b12U, 0x94643b84U, 0x0d6d6a3eU, 0x7a6a5aa8U,
-0xe40ecf0bU, 0x9309ff9dU, 0x0a00ae27U, 0x7d079eb1U, 0xf00f9344U,
-0x8708a3d2U, 0x1e01f268U, 0x6906c2feU, 0xf762575dU, 0x806567cbU,
-0x196c3671U, 0x6e6b06e7U, 0xfed41b76U, 0x89d32be0U, 0x10da7a5aU,
-0x67dd4accU, 0xf9b9df6fU, 0x8ebeeff9U, 0x17b7be43U, 0x60b08ed5U,
-0xd6d6a3e8U, 0xa1d1937eU, 0x38d8c2c4U, 0x4fdff252U, 0xd1bb67f1U,
-0xa6bc5767U, 0x3fb506ddU, 0x48b2364bU, 0xd80d2bdaU, 0xaf0a1b4cU,
-0x36034af6U, 0x41047a60U, 0xdf60efc3U, 0xa867df55U, 0x316e8eefU,
-0x4669be79U, 0xcb61b38cU, 0xbc66831aU, 0x256fd2a0U, 0x5268e236U,
-0xcc0c7795U, 0xbb0b4703U, 0x220216b9U, 0x5505262fU, 0xc5ba3bbeU,
-0xb2bd0b28U, 0x2bb45a92U, 0x5cb36a04U, 0xc2d7ffa7U, 0xb5d0cf31U,
-0x2cd99e8bU, 0x5bdeae1dU, 0x9b64c2b0U, 0xec63f226U, 0x756aa39cU,
-0x026d930aU, 0x9c0906a9U, 0xeb0e363fU, 0x72076785U, 0x05005713U,
-0x95bf4a82U, 0xe2b87a14U, 0x7bb12baeU, 0x0cb61b38U, 0x92d28e9bU,
-0xe5d5be0dU, 0x7cdcefb7U, 0x0bdbdf21U, 0x86d3d2d4U, 0xf1d4e242U,
-0x68ddb3f8U, 0x1fda836eU, 0x81be16cdU, 0xf6b9265bU, 0x6fb077e1U,
-0x18b74777U, 0x88085ae6U, 0xff0f6a70U, 0x66063bcaU, 0x11010b5cU,
-0x8f659effU, 0xf862ae69U, 0x616bffd3U, 0x166ccf45U, 0xa00ae278U,
-0xd70dd2eeU, 0x4e048354U, 0x3903b3c2U, 0xa7672661U, 0xd06016f7U,
-0x4969474dU, 0x3e6e77dbU, 0xaed16a4aU, 0xd9d65adcU, 0x40df0b66U,
-0x37d83bf0U, 0xa9bcae53U, 0xdebb9ec5U, 0x47b2cf7fU, 0x30b5ffe9U,
-0xbdbdf21cU, 0xcabac28aU, 0x53b39330U, 0x24b4a3a6U, 0xbad03605U,
-0xcdd70693U, 0x54de5729U, 0x23d967bfU, 0xb3667a2eU, 0xc4614ab8U,
-0x5d681b02U, 0x2a6f2b94U, 0xb40bbe37U, 0xc30c8ea1U, 0x5a05df1bU,
-0x2d02ef8dU
-};
-
-static unsigned int
-internal_crc32(const unsigned char *bin_data, Py_ssize_t len, unsigned int crc)
-{ /* By Jim Ahlstrom; All rights transferred to CNRI */
-    unsigned int result;
-
-    crc = ~ crc;
-    while (len-- > 0) {
-        crc = crc_32_tab[(crc ^ *bin_data++) & 0xff] ^ (crc >> 8);
-        /* Note:  (crc >> 8) MUST zero fill on left */
-    }
-
-    result = (crc ^ 0xFFFFFFFF);
-    return result & 0xffffffff;
-}
-#endif  /* USE_ZLIB_CRC32 */
 
 /*[clinic input]
 binascii.crc32 -> unsigned_int
@@ -767,10 +631,8 @@ Compute CRC-32 incrementally.
 static unsigned int
 binascii_crc32_impl(PyObject *module, Py_buffer *data, unsigned int crc)
 /*[clinic end generated code: output=52cf59056a78593b input=bbe340bc99d25aa8]*/
-
-#ifdef USE_ZLIB_CRC32
 /* This is the same as zlibmodule.c zlib_crc32_impl. It exists in two
- * modules for historical reasons. */
+ * modules for historical reasons. We should consolidate the two. */
 {
     /* Releasing the GIL for very small buffers is inefficient
        and may lower performance */
@@ -793,24 +655,6 @@ binascii_crc32_impl(PyObject *module, Py_buffer *data, unsigned int crc)
     }
     return crc & 0xffffffff;
 }
-#else  /* USE_ZLIB_CRC32 */
-{
-    const unsigned char *bin_data = data->buf;
-    Py_ssize_t len = data->len;
-
-    /* Releasing the GIL for very small buffers is inefficient
-       and may lower performance */
-    if (len > 1024*5) {
-        unsigned int result;
-        Py_BEGIN_ALLOW_THREADS
-        result = internal_crc32(bin_data, len, crc);
-        Py_END_ALLOW_THREADS
-        return result;
-    } else {
-        return internal_crc32(bin_data, len, crc);
-    }
-}
-#endif  /* USE_ZLIB_CRC32 */
 
 /*[clinic input]
 binascii.b2a_hex
diff --git a/PCbuild/pythoncore.vcxproj b/PCbuild/pythoncore.vcxproj
index 5e6e703df9123e..a0a230134290bf 100644
--- a/PCbuild/pythoncore.vcxproj
+++ b/PCbuild/pythoncore.vcxproj
@@ -366,9 +366,7 @@
     <ClCompile Include="..\Modules\arraymodule.c" />
     <ClCompile Include="..\Modules\atexitmodule.c" />
     <ClCompile Include="..\Modules\audioop.c" />
-    <ClCompile Include="..\Modules\binascii.c">
-      <PreprocessorDefinitions>USE_ZLIB_CRC32;%(PreprocessorDefinitions)</PreprocessorDefinitions>
-    </ClCompile>
+    <ClCompile Include="..\Modules\binascii.c"/>
     <ClCompile Include="..\Modules\cmathmodule.c" />
     <ClCompile Include="..\Modules\_datetimemodule.c" />
     <ClCompile Include="..\Modules\errnomodule.c" />
diff --git a/configure b/configure
index 5fa6efaab4fb7c..815dc4c0b6a7bb 100755
--- a/configure
+++ b/configure
@@ -14863,7 +14863,6 @@ fi
 $as_echo "$ac_cv_lib_z_gzread" >&6; }
 if test "x$ac_cv_lib_z_gzread" = xyes; then :
 
-        have_zlib=yes
         ZLIB_CFLAGS=${ZLIB_CFLAGS-""}
         ZLIB_LIBS=${ZLIB_LIBS-"-lz"}
         { $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: checking for inflateCopy in -lz" >&5
@@ -14910,7 +14909,7 @@ fi
 
 else
 
-        have_zlib=no
+        as_fn_error $? "zlib.h and libz are required. Install your OS's zlib-devel or zlib1g-dev equivalent library or get it from https://zlib.net/." "$LINENO" 5
 
 fi
 
@@ -14923,7 +14922,9 @@ LIBS=$save_LIBS
 
 
 else
-  have_zlib=no
+
+    as_fn_error $? "zlib.h and libz are required. Install your OS's zlib-devel or zlib1g-dev equivalent library or get it from https://zlib.net/." "$LINENO" 5
+
 fi
 
 done
@@ -14985,7 +14986,6 @@ fi
 $as_echo "$ac_cv_lib_z_gzread" >&6; }
 if test "x$ac_cv_lib_z_gzread" = xyes; then :
 
-        have_zlib=yes
         ZLIB_CFLAGS=${ZLIB_CFLAGS-""}
         ZLIB_LIBS=${ZLIB_LIBS-"-lz"}
         { $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: checking for inflateCopy in -lz" >&5
@@ -15032,7 +15032,7 @@ fi
 
 else
 
-        have_zlib=no
+        as_fn_error $? "zlib.h and libz are required. Install your OS's zlib-devel or zlib1g-dev equivalent library or get it from https://zlib.net/." "$LINENO" 5
 
 fi
 
@@ -15045,7 +15045,9 @@ LIBS=$save_LIBS
 
 
 else
-  have_zlib=no
+
+    as_fn_error $? "zlib.h and libz are required. Install your OS's zlib-devel or zlib1g-dev equivalent library or get it from https://zlib.net/." "$LINENO" 5
+
 fi
 
 done
@@ -15057,19 +15059,11 @@ else
         { $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: result: yes" >&5
 $as_echo "yes" >&6; }
 
-  have_zlib=yes
     $as_echo "#define HAVE_ZLIB_COPY 1" >>confdefs.h
 
 
 fi
 
-if test "x$have_zlib" = xyes; then :
-
-  BINASCII_CFLAGS="-DUSE_ZLIB_CRC32 $ZLIB_CFLAGS"
-  BINASCII_LIBS="$ZLIB_LIBS"
-
-fi
-
 
 pkg_failed=no
 { $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: checking for BZIP2" >&5
@@ -23054,21 +23048,17 @@ $as_echo "$py_cv_module__uuid" >&6; }
 
 
 
-  { $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: checking for stdlib extension module zlib" >&5
-$as_echo_n "checking for stdlib extension module zlib... " >&6; }
         if test "$py_cv_module_zlib" != "n/a"; then :
-
-    if true; then :
-  if test "$have_zlib" = yes; then :
   py_cv_module_zlib=yes
-else
-  py_cv_module_zlib=missing
 fi
+   if test "$py_cv_module_zlib" = yes; then
+  MODULE_ZLIB_TRUE=
+  MODULE_ZLIB_FALSE='#'
 else
-  py_cv_module_zlib=disabled
+  MODULE_ZLIB_TRUE='#'
+  MODULE_ZLIB_FALSE=
 fi
 
-fi
   as_fn_append MODULE_BLOCK "MODULE_ZLIB=$py_cv_module_zlib$as_nl"
   if test "x$py_cv_module_zlib" = xyes; then :
 
@@ -23076,16 +23066,6 @@ fi
     as_fn_append MODULE_BLOCK "MODULE_ZLIB_LDFLAGS=$ZLIB_LIBS$as_nl"
 
 fi
-   if test "$py_cv_module_zlib" = yes; then
-  MODULE_ZLIB_TRUE=
-  MODULE_ZLIB_FALSE='#'
-else
-  MODULE_ZLIB_TRUE='#'
-  MODULE_ZLIB_FALSE=
-fi
-
-  { $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: result: $py_cv_module_zlib" >&5
-$as_echo "$py_cv_module_zlib" >&6; }
 
 
         if test "$py_cv_module_binascii" != "n/a"; then :
@@ -23102,8 +23082,8 @@ fi
   as_fn_append MODULE_BLOCK "MODULE_BINASCII=$py_cv_module_binascii$as_nl"
   if test "x$py_cv_module_binascii" = xyes; then :
 
-    as_fn_append MODULE_BLOCK "MODULE_BINASCII_CFLAGS=$BINASCII_CFLAGS$as_nl"
-    as_fn_append MODULE_BLOCK "MODULE_BINASCII_LDFLAGS=$BINASCII_LIBS$as_nl"
+    as_fn_append MODULE_BLOCK "MODULE_BINASCII_CFLAGS=$ZLIB_CFLAGS$as_nl"
+    as_fn_append MODULE_BLOCK "MODULE_BINASCII_LDFLAGS=$ZLIB_LIBS$as_nl"
 
 fi
 
diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 7a37ad279d0fcb..2d4836e08b9c91 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -4333,31 +4333,33 @@ if test "$ac_cv_have_lchflags" = yes ; then
 fi
 
 dnl Check for compression libraries
-AH_TEMPLATE([HAVE_ZLIB_COPY], [Define if the zlib library has inflateCopy])
+AH_TEMPLATE([HAVE_ZLIB_COPY], [Define if the zlib library has inflateCopy; zlib 1.2.0 (2003) added inflateCopy.])
+dnl 2022-03: Until we know if third party zlib modules people use (for hardware
+dnl accelerators, parallelism, etc.) all support copy, lets not assume.
 
 PKG_CHECK_MODULES([ZLIB], [zlib >= 1.2.0], [
-  have_zlib=yes
   dnl zlib 1.2.0 (2003) added inflateCopy
   AC_DEFINE([HAVE_ZLIB_COPY], [1])
 ], [
   AC_CHECK_HEADERS([zlib.h], [
     WITH_SAVE_ENV([
       AC_CHECK_LIB([z], [gzread], [
-        have_zlib=yes
         ZLIB_CFLAGS=${ZLIB_CFLAGS-""}
         ZLIB_LIBS=${ZLIB_LIBS-"-lz"}
         AC_CHECK_LIB([z], [inflateCopy], [AC_DEFINE([HAVE_ZLIB_COPY], [1])])
       ], [
-        have_zlib=no
+        AC_MSG_ERROR([m4_normalize([
+          zlib.h and libz are required. Install your OS's zlib-devel or
+          zlib1g-dev equivalent library or get it from https://zlib.net/.
+        ])])
       ])
     ])
-  ], [have_zlib=no])
-])
-
-dnl binascii can use zlib for optimized crc32.
-AS_VAR_IF([have_zlib], [yes], [
-  BINASCII_CFLAGS="-DUSE_ZLIB_CRC32 $ZLIB_CFLAGS"
-  BINASCII_LIBS="$ZLIB_LIBS"
+  ], [
+    AC_MSG_ERROR([m4_normalize([
+      zlib.h and libz are required. Install your OS's zlib-devel or
+      zlib1g-dev equivalent library or get it from https://zlib.net/.
+    ])])
+  ])
 ])
 
 PKG_CHECK_MODULES([BZIP2], [bzip2], [have_bzip2=yes], [
@@ -6619,10 +6621,9 @@ PY_STDLIB_MOD([_uuid],
   [$LIBUUID_CFLAGS], [$LIBUUID_LIBS])
 
 dnl compression libs
-PY_STDLIB_MOD([zlib], [], [test "$have_zlib" = yes],
-  [$ZLIB_CFLAGS], [$ZLIB_LIBS])
-dnl binascii can use zlib for optimized crc32.
-PY_STDLIB_MOD_SIMPLE([binascii], [$BINASCII_CFLAGS], [$BINASCII_LIBS])
+PY_STDLIB_MOD_SIMPLE([zlib], [$ZLIB_CFLAGS], [$ZLIB_LIBS])
+dnl binascii uses zlib for optimized crc32.
+PY_STDLIB_MOD_SIMPLE([binascii], [$ZLIB_CFLAGS], [$ZLIB_LIBS])
 PY_STDLIB_MOD([_bz2], [], [test "$have_bzip2" = yes],
   [$BZIP2_CFLAGS], [$BZIP2_LIBS])
 PY_STDLIB_MOD([_lzma], [], [test "$have_liblzma" = yes],
diff --git a/pyconfig.h.in b/pyconfig.h.in
index 40952883853e32..afafd860e396a6 100644
--- a/pyconfig.h.in
+++ b/pyconfig.h.in
@@ -1441,7 +1441,8 @@
 /* Define to 1 if you have the `writev' function. */
 #undef HAVE_WRITEV
 
-/* Define if the zlib library has inflateCopy */
+/* Define if the zlib library has inflateCopy; zlib 1.2.0 (2003) added
+   inflateCopy. */
 #undef HAVE_ZLIB_COPY
 
 /* Define to 1 if you have the <zlib.h> header file. */
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index c3cf2417bc429d..b1fae7b9d5adcf 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -1350,11 +1350,8 @@ def detect_platform_specific_exts(self):
         self.addext(Extension('_scproxy', ['_scproxy.c']))
 
     def detect_compress_exts(self):
-        # Andrew Kuchling's zlib module.
-        self.addext(Extension('zlib', ['zlibmodule.c']))
-
-        # Helper module for various ascii-encoders.  Uses zlib for an optimized
-        # crc32 if we have it.  Otherwise binascii uses its own.
+        # The zlib module is built by our Makefile
+        # Helper module for various ascii-encoders.  Uses zlib for crc32.
         self.addext(Extension('binascii', ['binascii.c']))
 
         # Gustavo Niemeyer's bz2 module.