Madagascar vs South Africa: Number of people who cannot afford a healthy diet
Madagascar
29.90 million people
in 2024
South Africa
39.50 million people
in 2024
Madagascar rank
17th
South Africa rank
14th
Number of people who cannot afford a healthy diet over time
- Madagascar
- South Africa
How they compare
South Africa currently reports 39.50 million people against 29.90 million people in Madagascar, a difference of 9.60 million people.
That makes South Africa's figure about 1.3 times Madagascar's.
Across all 8 years both countries report, South Africa has been ahead every year.
Madagascar ranks 17th and South Africa ranks 14th of 150 countries.
South Africa has averaged higher in every one of the 2 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Madagascar | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 25.57 million people | 35.40 million people | 9.83 million people | South Africa |
| 2020s | 28.58 million people | 38.32 million people | 9.74 million people | South Africa |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher number of people who cannot afford a healthy diet, Madagascar or South Africa?
- South Africa, at 39.50 million people against 29.90 million people in Madagascar as of 2024.
- What is the difference in number of people who cannot afford a healthy diet between Madagascar and South Africa?
- 9.60 million people, with South Africa ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Madagascar and South Africa?
- 8 years are reported by both, from 2017 to 2024.
- How do Madagascar and South Africa rank globally for number of people who cannot afford a healthy diet?
- Madagascar ranks 17th and South Africa ranks 14th of 150 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- FAO and World Bank (2025), using data and methods from Bai et al. (2024) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Number of people who cannot afford a healthy diet. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Total number of people who cannot afford a healthy diet in a given country and year.