Prevalence of undernourishment (% of population) in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Prevalence of undernourishment (% of population) was 30.5% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Prevalence of undernourishment in Papua New Guinea, 2001–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in % of population.
Analysis
Papua New Guinea recorded 30.5% for prevalence of undernourishment in 2024. That is the highest value across all 24 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.7% on the previous year and up 10.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of undernourishment in Papua New Guinea peaked at 30.5% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 26.7%, in 2001.
Papua New Guinea ranks 11th of 171 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Prevalence of undernourishment (% of population) in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | % of population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 26.7% | — |
| 2002 | 27.4% | +2.6% |
| 2003 | 28.1% | +2.6% |
| 2004 | 29.0% | +3.2% |
| 2005 | 27.9% | -3.8% |
| 2006 | 27.9% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 27.2% | -2.5% |
| 2008 | 27.6% | +1.5% |
| 2009 | 28.8% | +4.3% |
| 2010 | 29.9% | +3.8% |
| 2011 | 30.1% | +0.7% |
| 2012 | 28.6% | -5.0% |
| 2013 | 27.3% | -4.5% |
| 2014 | 27.5% | +0.7% |
| 2015 | 27.8% | +1.1% |
| 2016 | 28.2% | +1.4% |
| 2017 | 28.3% | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 28.5% | +0.7% |
| 2019 | 28.2% | -1.1% |
| 2020 | 28.3% | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 27.9% | -1.4% |
| 2022 | 29.3% | +5.0% |
| 2023 | 29.7% | +1.4% |
| 2024 | 30.5% | +2.7% |
Papua New Guinea compared with similar countries
- Papua New Guinea's 30.5% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 11.1%, 2.7× the median. (44 countries reporting)
- Papua New Guinea's 30.5% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 4.3%, 7.0× the median. (26 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 27.8% | 26.7% | 29.0% | 9 |
| 2010s | 28.4% | 27.3% | 30.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 29.1% | 27.9% | 30.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea
- 8 Liberia 37.3% compare
- 9 Kenya 34.9% compare
- 10 Chad 33.6% compare
- 12 Central African Republic 29.8% compare
- 13 Afghanistan 27.8% compare
- 14 Solomon Islands 27.0% compare
More health data for Papua New Guinea
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.77 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.3741 % change on previous year (2090)
- Un projection of annual infant deaths 2,501 (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 2 (2023)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 0.27 % 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 0.0555 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 0.2621 % 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 0.0594 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of undernourishment in Papua New Guinea?
- Prevalence of undernourishment in Papua New Guinea was 30.5% in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
- What is the highest prevalence of undernourishment recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 30.5% in 2024.
- What is the lowest prevalence of undernourishment recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 26.7% in 2001.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for prevalence of undernourishment?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 11th out of 171 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of undernourishment rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Papua New Guinea data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), published as part of Prevalence of undernourishment (% of population). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Prevalence of undernourishment is the percentage of the population whose habitual food consumption is insufficient to provide the dietary energy levels that are required to maintain a normal active and healthy life. Data showing as 2.5 may signify a prevalence of undernourishment below 2.5%.