Data for 2024
Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity, 2024
2024, as FAO’s 2026 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten
Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity, 2024 covers 125 countries on 6 measures. South Sudan is highest, at 62.9; 7 countries share the lowest reading, 0.6. The middle country reads 4.9. Against 2023, 104 values changed (36 up, 68 down), 2 countries joined, 2 left.
Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity · Data for 2024
HighestSouth Sudan
62.9Lowest7 countries share it
0.6Shaded by value in five groups of equal size, darkest at the lowest end. A higher value is the worse result.
01Position · derived
The table
Every country and every column of Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity, 2024, as published. FAO ranks nobody on this measure; the position is derived here by ordering the published values. “=” marks a shared position.
Showing 25 of 125 countries · select a heading to sort
| derived | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South SudanSSDEastern Africa | 62.9 | 61.2 | 64.6 | 62.9 | 62.9 | 7.5 |
| 2 |  MalawiMWIEastern Africa | 58.1 | 56.6 | 59.5 | 59.6 | 56.5 | 12.6 |
| 3 |  HaitiHTICaribbean | 45.4 | 42.2 | 48.7 | 45.4 | 45.4 | 5.3 |
| 4 |  DR CongoCODMiddle Africa | 43.9 | 41.7 | 46.0 | 44.3 | 43.4 | 47.9 |
| 5 |  LiberiaLBRWestern Africa | 35.5 | 33.0 | 38.1 | 36.3 | 34.7 | 2.0 |
| 6 |  Sierra LeoneSLEWestern Africa | 31.9 | 27.9 | 36.0 | 31.5 | 32.3 | 2.8 |
| 7 |  AfghanistanAFGSouthern Asia | 30.2 | 24.1 | 36.3 | 34.5 | 25.8 | 12.9 |
| 8 |  NamibiaNAMSouthern Africa | 28.1 | 26.2 | 30.1 | 28.9 | 27.3 | 0.9 |
| 9 |  JamaicaJAMCaribbean | 27.4 | 23.8 | 30.9 | 25.4 | 29.3 | 0.8 |
| 10 |  KenyaKENEastern Africa | 26.5 | 25.4 | 27.5 | 27.2 | 25.7 | 14.9 |
| 11 |  NigeriaNGAWestern Africa | 26.4 | 24.9 | 27.8 | 26.7 | 26.1 | 61.4 |
| 12 |  ZimbabweZWEEastern Africa | 25.3 | 21.5 | 29.1 | 25.7 | 24.9 | 4.2 |
| 13 |  ChadTCDMiddle Africa | 25.2 | 23.9 | 26.4 | 25.5 | 24.8 | 5.1 |
| 14 |  EswatiniSWZSouthern Africa | 25.0 | 21.8 | 28.1 | 27.1 | 22.8 | 0.3 |
| 15 |  LesothoLSOSouthern Africa | 24.3 | 22.8 | 25.8 | 24.9 | 23.6 | 0.6 |
| 16 |  CameroonCMRMiddle Africa | 23.9 | 20.4 | 27.3 | 24.1 | 23.6 | 6.9 |
| 17 |  TanzaniaTZAEastern Africa | 22.9 | 21.2 | 24.7 | 22.3 | 23.6 | 15.7 |
| 18 |  GuatemalaGTMCentral America | 22.4 | 19.2 | 25.5 | 22.6 | 22.1 | 4.1 |
| 19 |  BurundiBDIEastern Africa | 20.9 | 19.6 | 22.3 | 21.6 | 20.2 | 2.9 |
| 20 |  BotswanaBWASouthern Africa | 20.4 | 17.9 | 23.0 | 21.9 | 18.9 | 0.5 |
| 21 |  GambiaGMBWestern Africa | 17.6 | 15.1 | 20.1 | 17.3 | 17.9 | 0.5 |
| 22 |  ZambiaZMBEastern Africa | 17.2 | 15.7 | 18.7 | 18.3 | 16.1 | 3.7 |
| 23 |  MadagascarMDGEastern Africa | 16.9 | 15.8 | 18.0 | 16.8 | 17.0 | 5.4 |
| 24 |  EthiopiaETHEastern Africa | 16.6 | 13.5 | 19.8 | 17.0 | 16.2 | 22.0 |
| 25 |  Dominican RepublicDOMCaribbean | 16.4 | 14.9 | 17.9 | 18.1 | 14.6 | 1.9 |
| 26 |  AngolaAGOMiddle Africa | 16.2 | 15.7 | 16.6 | 16.9 | 15.4 | 6.1 |
| 27 |  LibyaLBYNorthern Africa | 15.1 | 12.2 | 17.9 | 12.6 | 17.5 | 1.1 |
| 28 |  HondurasHNDCentral America | 14.3 | 13.7 | 14.8 | 16.0 | 12.5 | 1.5 |
| 29 |  BeninBENWestern Africa | 13.1 | 11.6 | 14.5 | 13.3 | 12.8 | 1.9 |
| 30 |  UgandaUGAEastern Africa | 12.7 | 11.9 | 13.6 | 13.0 | 12.4 | 6.4 |
| 31 |  MauritaniaMRTWestern Africa | 12.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 13.0 | 12.1 | 0.6 |
| =32 |  El SalvadorSLVCentral America | 12.3 | 9.9 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 10.9 | 0.8 |
| =32 |  NepalNPLSouthern Asia | 12.3 | 10.3 | 14.2 | 11.9 | 12.6 | 3.6 |
| 34 |  MauritiusMUSEastern Africa | 12.2 | 9.9 | 14.4 | 12.9 | 11.5 | 0.2 |
| 35 |  EgyptEGYNorthern Africa | 11.7 | 10.3 | 13.1 | 13.4 | 10.1 | 13.7 |
| =36 |  ArgentinaARGSouth America | 11.0 | 9.0 | 13.0 | 12.0 | 10.0 | 5.0 |
| =36 |  EcuadorECUSouth America | 11.0 | 8.2 | 13.9 | 11.7 | 10.3 | 2.0 |
| 38 |  LebanonLBNWestern Asia | 10.2 | 8.5 | 11.8 | 11.4 | 9.0 | 0.6 |
| 39 |  TogoTGOWestern Africa | 9.2 | 7.4 | 11.0 | 9.2 | 9.1 | 0.8 |
| 40 |  GhanaGHAWestern Africa | 8.8 | 8.2 | 9.4 | 8.8 | 8.7 | 3.0 |
| 41 |  South AfricaZAFSouthern Africa | 8.4 | 7.7 | 9.1 | 8.7 | 8.1 | 5.4 |
| 42 |  AlbaniaALBSouthern Europe | 8.3 | 6.3 | 10.2 | 9.5 | 7.1 | 0.2 |
| =43 |  Côte d’IvoireCIVWestern Africa | 7.9 | 7.1 | 8.7 | 7.9 | 7.9 | 2.5 |
| =43 |  MyanmarMMRSouth-eastern Asia | 7.9 | 6.1 | 9.6 | 7.8 | 8.0 | 4.3 |
| 45 |  TunisiaTUNNorthern Africa | 7.7 | 5.7 | 9.8 | 8.3 | 7.2 | 0.9 |
| 46 |  NigerNERWestern Africa | 7.4 | 7.0 | 7.8 | 7.3 | 7.5 | 2.0 |
| 47 |  Burkina FasoBFAWestern Africa | 7.3 | 6.0 | 8.6 | 7.7 | 6.9 | 1.7 |
| 48 |  ParaguayPRYSouth America | 7.0 | 5.5 | 8.5 | 6.7 | 7.3 | 0.5 |
| =49 |  PalauPLWMicronesia | 6.9 | 3.6 | 10.2 | 6.9 | 6.9 | — |
| =49 |  Trinidad and TobagoTTOCaribbean | 6.9 | 6.4 | 7.4 | 7.0 | 6.8 | 0.1 |
| 51 |  Cabo VerdeCPVWestern Africa | 6.4 | 5.1 | 7.7 | 6.4 | 6.4 | — |
| 52 |  MoldovaMDAEastern Europe | 6.0 | 4.1 | 7.9 | 7.4 | 4.6 | 0.2 |
| =53 |  LaosLAOSouth-eastern Asia | 5.5 | 4.1 | 6.9 | 5.8 | 5.2 | 0.4 |
| =53 |  PakistanPAKSouthern Asia | 5.5 | 5.2 | 5.8 | 7.3 | 3.7 | 13.8 |
| 55 |  UkraineUKREastern Europe | 5.4 | 4.0 | 6.8 | 5.6 | 5.2 | 2.1 |
| 56 |  RomaniaROUEastern Europe | 5.3 | 3.9 | 6.7 | 5.7 | 4.9 | 1.0 |
| =57 |  ColombiaCOLSouth America | 5.2 | 4.9 | 5.6 | 5.6 | 4.9 | 2.8 |
| =57 |  MalaysiaMYSSouth-eastern Asia | 5.2 | 4.0 | 6.4 | 4.4 | 6.0 | 1.8 |
| 59 |  GeorgiaGEOWestern Asia | 5.1 | 3.7 | 6.5 | 5.2 | 5.1 | 0.2 |
| 60 |  BoliviaBOLSouth America | 5.0 | 4.5 | 5.5 | 5.2 | 4.7 | 0.6 |
| =61 |  AlgeriaDZANorthern Africa | 4.9 | 2.1 | 7.8 | 5.0 | 4.8 | 2.3 |
| =61 |  HungaryHUNEastern Europe | 4.9 | 3.2 | 6.6 | 5.4 | 4.4 | 0.5 |
| =61 |  New ZealandNZLAustralia and New Zealand | 4.9 | 3.9 | 5.9 | 4.6 | 5.2 | 0.3 |
| =61 |  TajikistanTJKCentral Asia | 4.9 | 3.3 | 6.4 | 5.4 | 4.3 | 0.5 |
| =65 |  IranIRNSouthern Asia | 4.8 | 3.6 | 6.0 | 4.0 | 5.6 | 4.4 |
| =65 |  KiribatiKIRMicronesia | 4.8 | 3.4 | 6.2 | 4.8 | 4.8 | — |
| 67 |  GuyanaGUYSouth America | 4.7 | 4.1 | 5.3 | 4.7 | 4.7 | — |
| 68 |  SamoaWSMPolynesia | 4.5 | 3.8 | 5.3 | 4.5 | 4.5 | — |
| =69 |  AustraliaAUSAustralia and New Zealand | 4.4 | 3.6 | 5.2 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 1.2 |
| =69 |  GrenadaGRDCaribbean | 4.4 | 2.7 | 6.0 | 4.4 | 4.4 | — |
| 71 |  United KingdomGBRNorthern Europe | 4.0 | 2.7 | 5.3 | 3.6 | 4.4 | 2.8 |
| 72 |  KuwaitKWTWestern Asia | 3.8 | 3.1 | 4.5 | 3.2 | 4.4 | 0.2 |
| =73 |  PeruPERSouth America | 3.7 | 3.4 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 3.3 | 1.3 |
| =73 |  SingaporeSGPSouth-eastern Asia | 3.7 | 2.5 | 4.9 | 3.2 | 4.1 | 0.2 |
| 75 |  SenegalSENWestern Africa | 3.5 | 2.4 | 4.6 | 3.8 | 3.1 | 0.6 |
| =76 |  ChileCHLSouth America | 3.3 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 3.6 | 0.7 |
| =76 |  FranceFRAWestern Europe | 3.3 | 2.6 | 4.0 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 2.2 |
| =76 |  NetherlandsNLDWestern Europe | 3.3 | 2.1 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 2.6 | 0.6 |
| 79 |  SwedenSWENorthern Europe | 3.2 | 2.2 | 4.3 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 0.3 |
| =80 |  IrelandIRLNorthern Europe | 3.1 | 2.3 | 3.9 | 2.5 | 3.7 | 0.2 |
| =80 |  PhilippinesPHLSouth-eastern Asia | 3.1 | 2.7 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 3.6 |
| 82 |  BelgiumBELWestern Europe | 3.0 | 1.6 | 4.4 | 3.4 | 2.6 | 0.4 |
| =83 |  CambodiaKHMSouth-eastern Asia | 2.9 | 1.9 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 2.3 | 0.5 |
| =83 |  FinlandFINNorthern Europe | 2.9 | 0.9 | 4.8 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 0.2 |
| =85 |  BelizeBLZCentral America | 2.7 | 1.5 | 3.8 | 2.7 | 2.7 | — |
| =85 |  MexicoMEXCentral America | 2.7 | 2.4 | 2.9 | 3.2 | 2.2 | 3.5 |
| =87 |  MaliMLIWestern Africa | 2.4 | 1.7 | 3.1 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 0.6 |
| =87 |  UruguayURYSouth America | 2.4 | 1.9 | 2.9 | 2.8 | 2.0 | — |
| =89 |  Costa RicaCRICentral America | 2.3 | 2.0 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.0 | 0.1 |
| =89 |  PortugalPRTSouthern Europe | 2.3 | 1.2 | 3.4 | 2.9 | 1.7 | 0.2 |
| 91 |  MaltaMLTSouthern Europe | 2.1 | 1.5 | 2.7 | 2.3 | 2.0 | — |
| =92 |  CanadaCANNorthern America | 1.9 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 0.7 |
| =92 |  DenmarkDNKNorthern Europe | 1.9 | 1.2 | 2.7 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 0.1 |
| =92 |  EstoniaESTNorthern Europe | 1.9 | 1.1 | 2.7 | 1.7 | 2.1 | — |
| =92 |  SpainESPSouthern Europe | 1.9 | 1.0 | 2.9 | 2.4 | 1.5 | 0.9 |
| =96 |  Bosnia and HerzegovinaBIHSouthern Europe | 1.8 | 0.9 | 2.7 | 1.9 | 1.7 | — |
| =96 |  IcelandISLNorthern Europe | 1.8 | 0.9 | 2.6 | 2.4 | 1.1 | — |
| =96 |  LatviaLVANorthern Europe | 1.8 | 0.9 | 2.8 | 2.0 | 1.7 | — |
| =96 |  VietnamVNMSouth-eastern Asia | 1.8 | 1.1 | 2.4 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 1.8 |
| =100 |  AustriaAUTWestern Europe | 1.7 | 0.9 | 2.5 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 0.2 |
| =100 |  BulgariaBGREastern Europe | 1.7 | 0.9 | 2.5 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 0.1 |
| =100 |  CzechiaCZEEastern Europe | 1.7 | 0.8 | 2.6 | 1.8 | 1.6 | 0.2 |
| =103 |  GreeceGRCSouthern Europe | 1.6 | 1.2 | 2.1 | 1.8 | 1.5 | 0.2 |
| =103 |  North MacedoniaMKDSouthern Europe | 1.6 | 0.8 | 2.3 | 2.0 | 1.2 | — |
| =105 |  AzerbaijanAZEWestern Asia | 1.5 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 0.2 |
| =105 |  NorwayNORNorthern Europe | 1.5 | 0.7 | 2.3 | 1.6 | 1.4 | — |
| =105 |  SwitzerlandCHEWestern Europe | 1.5 | 0.9 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 0.1 |
| =108 |  JapanJPNEastern Asia | 1.4 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 0.5 | 2.2 | 1.7 |
| =108 |  MontenegroMNESouthern Europe | 1.4 | 0.6 | 2.3 | 1.5 | 1.3 | — |
| =110 |  SlovakiaSVKEastern Europe | 1.3 | 0.7 | 1.9 | 1.4 | 1.2 | — |
| =110 |  South KoreaKOREastern Asia | 1.3 | 0.5 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 1.9 | 0.6 |
| 112 |  LithuaniaLTUNorthern Europe | 1.2 | — | 1.9 | 1.2 | 1.1 | — |
| =113 |  GermanyDEUWestern Europe | 1.1 | — | 1.9 | 0.7 | 1.4 | 0.9 |
| =113 |  Sri LankaLKASouthern Asia | 1.1 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 0.3 |
| =113 |  United StatesUSANorthern America | 1.1 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 3.7 |
| 116 |  United Arab EmiratesAREWestern Asia | 0.9 | — | 1.4 | 0.9 | 0.9 | — |
| =117 |  IsraelISRWestern Asia | 0.7 | — | 1.2 | 0.7 | 0.8 | — |
| =117 |  SerbiaSRBSouthern Europe | 0.7 | — | 1.3 | 0.9 | 0.6 | — |
| =119 |  BrazilBRASouth America | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.8 | — | 1.2 |
| =119 |  CroatiaHRVSouthern Europe | 0.6 | — | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.6 | — |
| =119 |  KyrgyzstanKGZCentral Asia | 0.6 | — | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.5 | — |
| =119 |  LuxembourgLUXWestern Europe | 0.6 | — | 1.0 | — | 0.7 | — |
| =119 |  MongoliaMNGEastern Asia | 0.6 | — | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.6 | — |
| =119 |  SloveniaSVNSouthern Europe | 0.6 | — | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.6 | — |
| =119 |  ThailandTHASouth-eastern Asia | 0.6 | — | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.4 |
02In 2024
At either end
The 5 countries at each end of the headline, then the highest and lowest on each other measure.
Highest
- 1South Sudan62.9
- 2Malawi58.1
- 3Haiti45.4
- 4DR Congo43.9
- 5Liberia35.5
Lowest
- 119Thailandshared0.6
- 119Sloveniashared0.6
- 119Mongoliashared0.6
- 119Luxembourgshared0.6
- 119Kyrgyzstanshared0.6
A higher value is the worse result. The middle country reads 4.9. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.
Each measure’s ends
90% confidence interval, lower bound (%)
Highest
South Sudan61.2Lowest2 share it
Middle country: 4.0
90% confidence interval, upper bound (%)
Highest
South Sudan64.6Lowest
Brazil0.6Middle country: 6.0
Women aged 15 and over (%)
Highest
South Sudan62.9Lowest
Japan0.5Middle country: 4.9
Men aged 15 and over (%)
Highest
South Sudan62.9Lowest2 share it
Middle country: 4.7
People in severe food insecurity (millions)
Highest
Nigeria61.4Lowest5 share it
Middle country: 1.1
032023 → 2024
Since 2023
What changed between 2023 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.
- +2 / −2countries joined / left
- 104values changed, of 123 in both
- 36 · 68rose · fell
- 19unchanged
Rose most
- Eswatini22.2 → 25.0+2.8
- Malawi55.6 → 58.1+2.5
- Nigeria24.3 → 26.4+2.1
- Madagascar15.4 → 16.9+1.5
- DR Congo42.5 → 43.9+1.4
Fell most
- Gambia21.7 → 17.6−4.1
- El Salvador15.4 → 12.3−3.1
- Angola19.1 → 16.2−2.9
- Botswana23.3 → 20.4−2.9
- Brazil3.1 → 0.6−2.5
+ Kyrgyzstan+ Paraguay
− Antigua and Barbuda
− ComorosBoth years come from the same release, so a difference here is a change in the data, not a revision of it. Every country’s full history is charted on the statistic page.
04Caveats
Read before you use
What this edition’s numbers are and are not, worked out from the file itself.
One year of the 2026 release
Every year in this series comes from FAO’s 2026 release, recalculated on one method. It can differ from what was first published for 2024.
84 distinct values among 125
Values are stored exactly as published, to 1 decimal. 7 countries share 0.6. Countries sharing a value share a position too.
The position is ours
FAO publishes values only. The order here sorts the published values, and the page says so wherever it prints one.
Which end is better
A higher value is the worse result.
39 empty cells
An empty cell means the publisher gave no figure. It is never a zero.
05The files
Download and cite
The table as a file, digit for digit, what this site changed, and a citation for this edition.
- .csv
For a spreadsheet or code
125 rows · 6.0 KB · UTF-8, opens in Excel
Opens with 11 lines of source notes; the table starts on row 13.
Download severe-food-insecurity-2024-nations-inquiry.csv - ↗
The publisher’s original
FAO’s own file, on its own site.
Food_Security_Data_E_All_Data_(Normalized).zip
What this site changed: Reshaped into one row per country: regional and income-group totals are left out, only the columns listed are kept, each row gets its ISO 3166 code, and some country names are brought to one spelling. No value is recalculated, rescaled or rounded.
Licence: CC BY 4.0. Share, adapt and use commercially. Credit the publisher and say if you changed anything.
Cite this edition
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (2024). Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity, 2024 [data set], describing 2024. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/severe-food-insecurity/2024
0610 held
Other years
‹ The year before
Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity, 2023125 countries
The year after ›
This is the newest year. A newer one will get its own page at its own address; this one is never rewritten.
All of them
Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity: every year10 held, with the data dictionary, coverage and licence.
How it has moved, charted by country
07Questions
Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity, 2024: questions and answers
Which country has the highest severe food insecurity in Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity, 2024?
South Sudan, at 62.9, of the 125 countries in the file.
What year does Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity, 2024 describe?
2024.
How many countries does Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity, 2024 cover?
125.
Where can I download Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity, 2024?
On this page, as a CSV file holding every value exactly as published, or from the publisher’s own site, linked below.
Is Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity, 2024 the newest?
Yes, as of 2026-10-13, when it was read from the publisher.