An object of the present invention is to provide a low-cost, miniature, wide-angle high-zoom-ratio zoom lens that has high imaging performance, and an imaging apparatus equipped with the zoom lens. To achieve the object, a zoom lens including a first lens group having positive refracting power, a second lens group having negative refracting power and a third lens group having positive refracting power in order from an object side in which a lens group P having positive refracting power is arranged closer to an image plane side than the third lens group.