Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population in World
World: Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population was 28.0% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population in World, 2014–2024
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 World is 28.0%, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of down 1.3% on the previous year and up 32.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population in World peaked at 28.9% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 21.1%, in 2014.
World ranks 13th of 23 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 11 years of available data.
Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population in World, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 21.1% | — |
| 2015 | 21.4% | +1.7% |
| 2016 | 22.4% | +4.6% |
| 2017 | 23.5% | +5.0% |
| 2018 | 24.6% | +4.5% |
| 2019 | 25.0% | +1.4% |
| 2020 | 28.8% | +15.3% |
| 2021 | 28.9% | +0.4% |
| 2022 | 28.5% | -1.4% |
| 2023 | 28.4% | -0.4% |
| 2024 | 28.0% | -1.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 23.0% | 21.1% | 25.0% | 6 |
| 2020s | 28.5% | 28.0% | 28.9% | 5 |
Countries ranked near World
- 10 Yemen 73.0% compare
- 11 Madagascar 72.6% compare
- 12 Zimbabwe 68.8% compare
- 13 Chad 66.3% compare
- 13 Mauritania 66.3% compare
- 15 Benin 65.6% compare
- 16 Guinea-Bissau 62.5% compare
More health data for World
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 2,458 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -0.47 % 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 0.0381 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate -0.6031 % 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 0.0401 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 05-09, female, annual growth rate -0.915 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 05-09, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 05-09, female, per capita 0.04 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population in World?
- Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population in World was 28.0% 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 World?
- The highest recorded value was 28.9% in 2021.
- What is the lowest prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population recorded in World?
- The lowest recorded value was 21.1% in 2014.
- How does World rank for prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population?
- World ranks 13th out of 23 groups with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population rising or falling in World?
- Over the last ten years it is up 32.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this World 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.