Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population (%) in New Zealand
New Zealand: Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population (%) was 17.9% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population in New Zealand, 2015–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population in New Zealand is 17.9%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 10 years on record.
That represents a change of up 3.5% on the previous year and up 79.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population in New Zealand peaked at 17.9% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 10.0%, in 2015.
That places New Zealand 69th out of 130 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population (%) in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 10.0% | — |
| 2016 | 11.3% | +13.0% |
| 2017 | 13.3% | +17.7% |
| 2018 | 13.9% | +4.5% |
| 2019 | 14.0% | +0.7% |
| 2020 | 14.5% | +3.6% |
| 2021 | 15.1% | +4.1% |
| 2022 | 16.4% | +8.6% |
| 2023 | 17.3% | +5.5% |
| 2024 | 17.9% | +3.5% |
New Zealand compared with similar countries
- New Zealand's 17.9% is above the median for high income countries, which is 8.9%, 2.0× the median. (42 countries reporting)
- New Zealand's 17.9% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 15.2%, 1.2× the median. (16 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 12.5% | 10.0% | 14.0% | 5 |
| 2020s | 16.2% | 14.5% | 17.9% | 5 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
More health data for New Zealand
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -2.94 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate -0.4815 % change on previous year (2090)
- Un projection of annual infant deaths 33 (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -0.1187 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.0277 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 0.018 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per capita 0.0291 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population in New Zealand?
- Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population in New Zealand was 17.9% in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
- What is the highest prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 17.9% in 2024.
- What is the lowest prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.0% in 2015.
- How does New Zealand rank for prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population?
- New Zealand ranks 69th out of 130 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 79.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this New Zealand data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), published as part of Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 10 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
The percentage of people in the population who live in households classified as moderately or severely food insecure. A household is classified as moderately or severely food insecure when at least one adult in the household has reported to have been exposed, at times during the year, to low quality diets and might have been forced to also reduce the quantity of food they would normally eat because of a lack of money or other resources.