Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population in North America
North America: Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population was 10.7% in 2024. ▬ Flat
Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population in North America, 2014–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in %.
Analysis
North America recorded 10.7% for prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population in 2024. That is the highest value across all 11 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.5% on the previous year and up 1.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population in North America peaked at 10.7% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 7.5%, in 2021.
North America ranks 19th of 23 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population in North America, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 10.5% | — |
| 2015 | 10.3% | -1.7% |
| 2016 | 9.0% | -13.1% |
| 2017 | 8.6% | -4.0% |
| 2018 | 8.0% | -6.9% |
| 2019 | 7.6% | -4.8% |
| 2020 | 8.3% | +8.4% |
| 2021 | 7.5% | -8.8% |
| 2022 | 9.7% | +28.8% |
| 2023 | 10.4% | +7.4% |
| 2024 | 10.7% | +2.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 9.0% | 7.6% | 10.5% | 6 |
| 2020s | 9.3% | 7.5% | 10.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near North America
More health data for North America
- Population ages 55-59, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 60-64, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 20-24, female, annual growth rate 1.69 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 60-64, male, annual growth rate -0.5906 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 60-64, female, per capita 0.0315 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 60-64, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 20-24, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 60-64, female, annual growth rate -0.6806 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 55-59, male, per capita 0.0301 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 50-54, male, per capita 0.03 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population in North America?
- Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population in North America was 10.7% 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 North America?
- The highest recorded value was 10.7% in 2024.
- What is the lowest prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population recorded in North America?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.5% in 2021.
- How does North America rank for prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population?
- North America ranks 19th out of 23 groups with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population rising or falling in North America?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this North America 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 11 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.