FAO · Share of Dietary Energy Supply from Cereals, Roots and Tubers
Calories from staple foods by country
How much of the food supply's energy comes from cereals, roots and tubers?
Of the 174 countries compared in 2022, Bahamas had the lowest reading, 21%, and DR Congo had the highest reading, 82%. In the middle country the figure was 41%. Among the 158 countries measured in every edition since 2001, the middle one moved from 49% to 42%.
Share
Calories from staple foods · 2022
Context statistic
Lowest of 174Bahamas
21%012022 · values only
Who leads
The three countries at the lowest end of 174 compared, the three at the other end, and the first on each continent.
1Photo: Bryce Edwards from San Jose, CA, USA derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY 2.0, greyscale
2Photo: Andrus Uuetalu derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY-SA 3.0 ee, greyscale
3Photo: Dirk.heldmaier derivative work: Inkey · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
Highest in 2022
DR Congo82%
Madagascar81%
Cambodia75%
Where a country sits says how it compares with the others measured, and nothing about why.
02Every measured country
Calories from staple foods on a map
Each country is shaded by its value, in five groups holding the same number of countries. Hover a country for its value, or select it to open its profile. Below the map, each continent’s middle country.
Darker is a lower value — the better end.
- 57–82%
- 46–56%
- 37–45%
- 30–36%
- 21–29%
- No reading in 2022 (10 measured in an earlier edition)
- Europe
30%
the middle country, of 39 measured · 49 members
Estonia22%
Serbia50%Lowest and highest reading in Europe.
- Oceania
35%
the middle country, of 13 measured · 21 members
Australia23%
Solomon Islands62%Lowest and highest reading in Oceania.
- Americas
38%
the middle country, of 33 measured · 48 members
Bahamas21%
Haiti56%Lowest and highest reading in Americas.
- Asia
46%
the middle country, of 46 measured · 52 members
Hong Kong28%Cambodia75%Lowest and highest reading in Asia.
- Africa
58%
the middle country, of 43 measured · 55 members
Libya37%DR Congo82%Lowest and highest reading in Africa.
- Every region
22 sub-regions, lowest middle country first
- Western Europe
26%
the middle country, of 7 measured · 9 members
Belgium23%
Luxembourg29%Lowest and highest reading in Western Europe.
- Caribbean
29%
the middle country, of 11 measured · 24 members
Bahamas21%Haiti56%Lowest and highest reading in Caribbean.
- Northern Europe
30%
the middle country, of 10 measured · 13 members
Estonia22%
Finland34%Lowest and highest reading in Northern Europe.
- Eastern Asia
32%
the middle country, of 6 measured · 8 members
Hong Kong28%
China50%Lowest and highest reading in Eastern Asia.
- Southern Europe
32%
the middle country, of 12 measured · 17 members
Spain26%Serbia50%Lowest and highest reading in Southern Europe.
- Eastern Europe
33%
the middle country, of 10 measured · 10 members
Czechia23%
Ukraine43%Lowest and highest reading in Eastern Europe.
- South America
38%
the middle country, of 12 measured · 12 members
Brazil31%
Paraguay55%Lowest and highest reading in South America.
- Western Asia
41%
the middle country, of 17 measured · 19 members
2 share 31%
Yemen60%Lowest and highest reading in Western Asia.
- Central America
42%
the middle country, of 8 measured · 8 members
Costa Rica31%
Nicaragua51%Lowest and highest reading in Central America.
- Central Asia
45%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 5 members
Kazakhstan30%
Tajikistan51%Lowest and highest reading in Central Asia.
- Northern Africa
49%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 6 members
Libya37%
Egypt64%Lowest and highest reading in Northern Africa.
- Southern Africa
52%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 5 members
South Africa46%
Lesotho66%Lowest and highest reading in Southern Africa.
- Eastern Africa
56%
the middle country, of 14 measured · 19 members
Seychelles39%Madagascar81%Lowest and highest reading in Eastern Africa.
- Middle Africa
59%
the middle country, of 6 measured · 9 members
São Tomé and Príncipe46%DR Congo82%Lowest and highest reading in Middle Africa.
- Southern Asia
60%
the middle country, of 9 measured · 9 members
Maldives40%2 share 72%
Lowest and highest reading in Southern Asia.
- South-eastern Asia
61%
the middle country, of 9 measured · 11 members
Malaysia39%Cambodia75%Lowest and highest reading in South-eastern Asia.
- Western Africa
63%
the middle country, of 13 measured · 16 members
Cabo Verde51%
Sierra Leone74%Lowest and highest reading in Western Africa.
- Australia and New Zealand
2 of 2 measured — too few for a middle: Australia, New Zealand.
Australia23%
New Zealand33%Lowest and highest reading in Australia and New Zealand.
- Melanesia
4 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu.
Fiji42%Solomon Islands62%Lowest and highest reading in Melanesia.
- Micronesia
4 of 7 measured — too few for a middle: Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru.
Nauru25%
Micronesia35%Lowest and highest reading in Micronesia.
- Northern America
2 of 4 measured — too few for a middle: Canada, United States.
United States24%
Canada28%Lowest and highest reading in Northern America.
- Polynesia
3 of 7 measured — too few for a middle: Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu.
Tonga33%
Samoa39%Lowest and highest reading in Polynesia.
03The whole field at once
The spread
174 countries, one dot each, on one scale — further right is a higher value. Half the countries are above 41%; a quarter are above 55%, and a quarter below 32%. The bar in each row marks that continent’s middle country.
04All 184 ever measured
Every country
In order, lowest value first. No rank or position is shown: too many countries share the same value for an order to mean anything. A high share means a diet built mostly on staples. A low share is not proof of a good diet, though: it can also mean a supply heavy in sugar, oils and fats. FAO publishes whole percentages, so many countries share a value, and the figure describes food available rather than food eaten.
Showing 25 of 184 countries
Values for 2022. The change column compares 2022 with 2021 only; the sparkline covers the recent editions.
052001–2022 · 22 reference years
Over time
Each point is a three-year average, labelled by the middle year of its window.
- the middle country
- the middle half of countries
- the middle of the 158 countries measured every time
- each continent’s middle country
The same, year by year
| Year | Countries | Middle country | Middle half | Measured every time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 174 | 41% | 32% – 55% | 42% |
| 2021 | 174 | 42% | 32% – 55% | 42% |
| 2020 | 174 | 42% | 32% – 54% | 42% |
| 2019 | 166 | 43% | 33% – 54% | 42% |
| 2018 | 167 | 43% | 33% – 55% | 43% |
| 2017 | 168 | 43% | 33% – 55% | 43% |
| 2016 | 168 | 43% | 33% – 56% | 43% |
| 2015 | 168 | 44% | 33% – 56% | 43% |
| 2014 | 168 | 43% | 33% – 56% | 42% |
| 2013 | 168 | 43% | 34% – 56% | 43% |
| 2012 | 168 | 43% | 34% – 56% | 43% |
| 2011 | 168 | 43% | 34% – 56% | 43% |
| 2010 | 162 | 44% | 34% – 57% | 44% |
| 2009 | 162 | 45% | 34% – 56% | 45% |
| 2008 | 170 | 46% | 35% – 59% | 45% |
| 2007 | 170 | 47% | 35% – 59% | 47% |
| 2006 | 170 | 47% | 35% – 59% | 47% |
| 2005 | 168 | 47% | 35% – 60% | 47% |
| 2004 | 168 | 48% | 36% – 60% | 47% |
| 2003 | 168 | 48% | 36% – 60% | 48% |
| 2002 | 168 | 49% | 36% – 60% | 49% |
| 2001 | 168 | 49% | 36% – 61% | 49% |
062021 → 2022
Who rose and fell
The biggest changes in value between the two newest editions — reference years recalculated in one report, not two separate publications. Places are shown second, because they also move when other countries do.
Improved most
before → after- Bahamas24% → 21%−3
- Libya40% → 37%−3
Albania29% → 27%−2
Ecuador40% → 38%−2- Micronesia37% → 35%−2
Worsened most
before → after
Uganda44% → 47%+3- Haiti54% → 56%+2
Syria53% → 55%+2
Tanzania58% → 60%+2
Afghanistan71% → 72%+1
174 countries were measured in both 2021 and 2022.
07Across every edition
Calories from staple foods in records
The extremes of the statistic. A record reached by more than one country names none of them.
Highest reading on record
84%
Share of dietary energy supply from cereals, roots and tubers (%)
Lowest reading on record
Reached 2 times by 2 countries — shared, so no holder is named
21%
Share of dietary energy supply from cereals, roots and tubers (%)
Biggest improvement between editions
4 countries moved by exactly the same amount — no holder is named
Shared
Biggest decline between editions
2 countries moved by exactly the same amount — no holder is named
Shared
Most improved since first measured
−24
54% → 30%
At the top most often
4 of 22
editions, alone at the first-listed end
08The measure
About calories from staple foods
This is the share of the calories in a country's food supply that comes from cereals, roots and tubers — rice, wheat, maize, cassava, potatoes and the like. FAO publishes it as a sign of diet quality: the more of the supply that comes from starchy staples, the less room is left for vegetables, fruit, pulses and animal foods.
What the number is: Share of dietary energy supply from cereals, roots and tubers (%).
09Where it fits
Connections
Its part in the Country Index, the statistics whose values line up most closely with it across countries, and others on the same subject.
In the Country Index
Context, with no vote
This statistic is published in full under Health & Wellbeing and Food & Agriculture, but does not help decide any Country Index standing.
Health & WellbeingFood & AgricultureWhich statistics vote, and why
Moves with
Where calories from staple foods is higher, these tend to be higher too.
- Informal Employment RateILO · 92 countries in commonρ 0.83
- Gender Inequality IndexUNDP Human Development Report Office · 161 countries in commonρ 0.81
- Children's Climate Risk IndexUNICEF · 146 countries in commonρ 0.80
Moves against
Where calories from staple foods is higher, these tend to be lower.
- Actual Individual Consumption per Capita (PPP)World Bank Group · 152 countries in commonρ −0.85
- GNI per Capita (PPP)World Bank Group · 91 countries in commonρ −0.85
- Inequality-adjusted Human Development IndexUNDP Human Development Report Office · 154 countries in commonρ −0.84
Rank correlation (ρ, from −1 to 1) across countries, on each statistic’s newest edition, out of 377 statistics sharing at least 80 countries with this one. Two statistics that move together do not cause each other.
10Keep reading
Explore further
The subject
11Questions
Calories from staple foods: questions and answers
Which country has the lowest calories from staple foods?
Bahamas, at 21%, among the 174 countries compared in 2022.
Which country has the highest calories from staple foods?
DR Congo, at 82%, among the 174 countries compared in 2022.
How many countries does the Share of Dietary Energy Supply from Cereals, Roots and Tubers cover?
174 in 2022, and 184 at least once across all editions. The number measured varies from 162 to 174 between editions.
What is the world average calories from staple foods?
This site does not calculate a world average, which would depend on how countries are weighted. In the middle country of the 174 compared in 2022, the figure was 41%.
Is this Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)’s own ranking?
No ranking is shown. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) publishes values only, and too many countries share the same value for an ordering to mean anything, so none is derived.
How often is the Share of Dietary Energy Supply from Cereals, Roots and Tubers published?
This site holds 22 reference years, 2001–2022, all recalculated in Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)’s 2026 report on one method — not 22 separate publications.
Where does the data come from, and can I download it?
From Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), under CC BY 4.0. FAOSTAT's Suite of Food Security Indicators, read from FAO's own bulk download. FAO derives it from its own food balance sheets. Every edition is on this site’s Datasets pages as a full table, and downloads as a CSV file with every value unrounded.
12Method
Sources, method and citation
Source
Share of Dietary Energy Supply from Cereals, Roots and Tubers — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
FAOSTAT's Suite of Food Security Indicators, read from FAO's own bulk download. FAO derives it from its own food balance sheets.
Newest edition
Report year 2022Data year 2022
Cite the source as: FAO. 2026. FAOSTAT: Suite of Food Security Indicators. Accessed on 3 October 2026. https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/FS Licence: CC-BY-4.0.
Licence: CC BY 4.0, checked 2026-10-03.
How this page reads the numbers
- No rank or position is shown: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) publishes values only, and too many countries share the same value for an ordering to mean anything.
- Which end is better follows the publisher’s own reading of the measure.
- A country is named at an end only when it holds that value alone. Where several share it, the page says how many and names none first.
- Values are stored exactly as published and trimmed only for display. “The middle country” is the median of the countries measured, not a world average.
The file itself, column by column — where it came from, what each column holds, and every edition as a CSV — is on its dataset page.
Photographs
The countries at the top of this statistic, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Calories from staple foods by country: Share of Dietary Energy Supply from Cereals, Roots and Tubers, data from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). https://nationsinquiry.com/statistics/staple-energy-share