Share of cereals allocated to human food vs. GDP per capita in Canada
Canada: Share of cereals allocated to human food vs. GDP per capita was 18.8% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Share of cereals allocated to human food vs. GDP per capita in Canada, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, share of cereals allocated to human food vs. gdp per capita in Canada stood at 18.8%. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.
That represents a change of up 17.0% on the previous year and up 22.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of cereals allocated to human food vs. gdp per capita in Canada peaked at 18.8% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 8.8%, in 1971.
That places Canada 186th out of 192 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Share of cereals allocated to human food vs. GDP per capita in Canada, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 14.8% | — |
| 1962 | 12.3% | -17.2% |
| 1963 | 12.5% | +2.1% |
| 1964 | 11.5% | -8.4% |
| 1965 | 12.7% | +10.5% |
| 1966 | 10.6% | -16.1% |
| 1967 | 11.6% | +9.0% |
| 1968 | 11.6% | -0.2% |
| 1969 | 9.8% | -15.3% |
| 1970 | 9.8% | +0.1% |
| 1971 | 8.8% | -9.9% |
| 1972 | 11.0% | +24.0% |
| 1973 | 10.6% | -3.3% |
| 1974 | 10.9% | +3.0% |
| 1975 | 10.6% | -3.1% |
| 1976 | 12.3% | +16.6% |
| 1977 | 10.9% | -11.5% |
| 1978 | 10.5% | -4.0% |
| 1979 | 10.1% | -3.5% |
| 1980 | 10.7% | +5.8% |
| 1981 | 9.2% | -14.2% |
| 1982 | 11.1% | +20.6% |
| 1983 | 11.1% | +0.3% |
| 1984 | 12.1% | +9.2% |
| 1985 | 10.9% | -10.2% |
| 1986 | 10.8% | -1.1% |
| 1987 | 10.2% | -5.3% |
| 1988 | 12.1% | +18.0% |
| 1989 | 11.4% | -5.3% |
| 1990 | 11.4% | -0.5% |
| 1991 | 11.7% | +2.9% |
| 1992 | 12.3% | +5.0% |
| 1993 | 9.7% | -21.1% |
| 1994 | 11.7% | +20.6% |
| 1995 | 11.2% | -4.0% |
| 1996 | 11.9% | +6.2% |
| 1997 | 12.9% | +8.8% |
| 1998 | 12.3% | -5.2% |
| 1999 | 13.2% | +7.4% |
| 2000 | 13.5% | +2.2% |
| 2001 | 13.8% | +2.1% |
| 2002 | 14.0% | +1.6% |
| 2003 | 12.3% | -11.9% |
| 2004 | 14.0% | +14.0% |
| 2005 | 13.9% | -0.8% |
| 2006 | 15.4% | +10.5% |
| 2007 | 14.1% | -8.2% |
| 2008 | 14.9% | +5.6% |
| 2009 | 16.6% | +11.1% |
| 2010 | 16.7% | +1.1% |
| 2011 | 18.2% | +8.5% |
| 2012 | 18.2% | +0.3% |
| 2013 | 15.3% | -16.3% |
| 2014 | 17.5% | +14.8% |
| 2015 | 16.0% | -8.6% |
| 2016 | 14.9% | -6.7% |
| 2017 | 15.5% | +3.6% |
| 2018 | 17.6% | +13.5% |
| 2019 | 15.3% | -13.0% |
| 2020 | 17.2% | +12.7% |
| 2021 | 18.2% | +5.7% |
| 2022 | 16.0% | -11.9% |
| 2023 | 18.8% | +17.0% |
Canada compared with similar countries
- Canada's 18.8% is below the median for high income countries, which is 38.1%, 49% of the median. (63 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 11.9% | 9.8% | 14.8% | 9 |
| 1970s | 10.6% | 8.8% | 12.3% | 10 |
| 1980s | 11.0% | 9.2% | 12.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 11.8% | 9.7% | 13.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 14.2% | 12.3% | 16.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 16.5% | 14.9% | 18.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 17.6% | 16.0% | 18.8% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Canada
More agriculture & rural data for Canada
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 31.61 % change on previous year (2022)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0193 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2022)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 1,092 current US$ per person (2022)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.0803 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.1712 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 1.9% (2022)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 1.9% (2022)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.9% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.7% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of cereals allocated to human food vs. gdp per capita in Canada?
- Share of cereals allocated to human food vs. gdp per capita in Canada was 18.8% in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of cereals allocated to human food vs. gdp per capita recorded in Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 18.8% in 2023.
- What is the lowest share of cereals allocated to human food vs. gdp per capita recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.8% in 1971.
- How does Canada rank for share of cereals allocated to human food vs. gdp per capita?
- Canada ranks 186th out of 192 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of cereals allocated to human food vs. gdp per capita rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is up 22.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Canada data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of cereals allocated to human food vs. GDP per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Share of domestic cereal supply allocated to direct human food, rather than animal feed or biofuels. GDP is adjusted for inflation and differences in living costs across countries.