Malaysia vs South Africa: Share of cereals allocated to human food
Malaysia
59.1%
in 2023
South Africa
58.7%
in 2023
Malaysia rank
100th
South Africa rank
102nd
Share of cereals allocated to human food over time
- Malaysia
- South Africa
How they compare
Malaysia currently reports 59.1% against 58.7% in South Africa, a difference of 0.4%.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 63 shared years of data; in 1961 it was Malaysia ahead.
Malaysia ranks 100th and South Africa ranks 102nd of 192 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, Malaysia averaged higher in 4 and South Africa in 3.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Malaysia | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 91.1% | 70.7% | 20.4% | Malaysia |
| 1970s | 83.8% | 61.5% | 22.4% | Malaysia |
| 1980s | 66.3% | 61.0% | 5.4% | Malaysia |
| 1990s | 58.3% | 66.0% | 7.6% | South Africa |
| 2000s | 58.8% | 68.9% | 10.1% | South Africa |
| 2010s | 56.0% | 60.6% | 4.6% | South Africa |
| 2020s | 58.7% | 57.1% | 1.6% | Malaysia |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of cereals allocated to human food, Malaysia or South Africa?
- Malaysia, at 59.1% against 58.7% in South Africa as of 2023.
- What is the difference in share of cereals allocated to human food between Malaysia and South Africa?
- 0.4%, with Malaysia ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Malaysia and South Africa?
- 63 years are reported by both, from 1961 to 2023.
- How do Malaysia and South Africa rank globally for share of cereals allocated to human food?
- Malaysia ranks 100th and South Africa ranks 102nd of 192 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of cereals allocated to human food. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Share of cereals available for domestic use – after accounting for trade – that is allocated to direct human consumption, relative to the total used for human food, animal feed, and industrial purposes. This excludes cereals used for seed, processing, and losses.