Share of cereals allocated to human food vs. GDP per capita in South Africa
South Africa: Share of cereals allocated to human food vs. GDP per capita was 58.7% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Share of cereals allocated to human food vs. GDP per capita in South Africa, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 58.7% for share of cereals allocated to human food vs. gdp per capita in 2023.
The figure is up 5.6% on the previous year and down 4.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of cereals allocated to human food vs. gdp per capita in South Africa peaked at 79.0% in 1965 and was at its lowest, 55.6%, in 2021.
That places South Africa 102nd out of 192 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Share of cereals allocated to human food vs. GDP per capita in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 72.2% | — |
| 1962 | 73.6% | +2.0% |
| 1963 | 73.7% | +0.1% |
| 1964 | 78.3% | +6.2% |
| 1965 | 79.0% | +0.9% |
| 1966 | 65.5% | -17.0% |
| 1967 | 66.3% | +1.2% |
| 1968 | 64.4% | -2.9% |
| 1969 | 63.2% | -1.9% |
| 1970 | 61.2% | -3.1% |
| 1971 | 63.3% | +3.4% |
| 1972 | 62.9% | -0.6% |
| 1973 | 61.8% | -1.8% |
| 1974 | 59.5% | -3.6% |
| 1975 | 59.9% | +0.6% |
| 1976 | 59.5% | -0.7% |
| 1977 | 61.0% | +2.6% |
| 1978 | 63.6% | +4.1% |
| 1979 | 61.9% | -2.5% |
| 1980 | 62.6% | +1.0% |
| 1981 | 61.0% | -2.4% |
| 1982 | 61.3% | +0.4% |
| 1983 | 57.5% | -6.2% |
| 1984 | 57.4% | -0.3% |
| 1985 | 58.2% | +1.5% |
| 1986 | 62.4% | +7.1% |
| 1987 | 63.5% | +1.7% |
| 1988 | 64.4% | +1.6% |
| 1989 | 61.3% | -4.8% |
| 1990 | 63.4% | +3.4% |
| 1991 | 64.7% | +2.0% |
| 1992 | 64.6% | -0.0% |
| 1993 | 64.7% | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 65.5% | +1.3% |
| 1995 | 65.5% | -0.1% |
| 1996 | 69.8% | +6.7% |
| 1997 | 68.9% | -1.3% |
| 1998 | 66.2% | -4.0% |
| 1999 | 66.4% | +0.2% |
| 2000 | 68.1% | +2.6% |
| 2001 | 70.1% | +2.9% |
| 2002 | 73.3% | +4.6% |
| 2003 | 73.6% | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 71.3% | -3.1% |
| 2005 | 67.2% | -5.8% |
| 2006 | 65.7% | -2.2% |
| 2007 | 66.0% | +0.5% |
| 2008 | 66.5% | +0.7% |
| 2009 | 66.9% | +0.6% |
| 2010 | 65.2% | -2.6% |
| 2011 | 63.7% | -2.3% |
| 2012 | 61.8% | -3.0% |
| 2013 | 61.3% | -0.8% |
| 2014 | 60.1% | -2.0% |
| 2015 | 59.7% | -0.6% |
| 2016 | 59.5% | -0.4% |
| 2017 | 59.3% | -0.3% |
| 2018 | 58.8% | -0.9% |
| 2019 | 56.9% | -3.2% |
| 2020 | 58.3% | +2.5% |
| 2021 | 55.6% | -4.8% |
| 2022 | 55.6% | +0.1% |
| 2023 | 58.7% | +5.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 70.7% | 63.2% | 79.0% | 9 |
| 1970s | 61.5% | 59.5% | 63.6% | 10 |
| 1980s | 61.0% | 57.4% | 64.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 66.0% | 63.4% | 69.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 68.9% | 65.7% | 73.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 60.6% | 56.9% | 65.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 57.1% | 55.6% | 58.7% | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More agriculture & rural data for South Africa
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 7.11 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0283 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 186.56 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.812 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.3618 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 2.8% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 2.8% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.0% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.0% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of cereals allocated to human food vs. gdp per capita in South Africa?
- Share of cereals allocated to human food vs. gdp per capita in South Africa was 58.7% 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 South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 79.0% in 1965.
- What is the lowest share of cereals allocated to human food vs. gdp per capita recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 55.6% in 2021.
- How does South Africa rank for share of cereals allocated to human food vs. gdp per capita?
- South Africa ranks 102nd out of 192 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of cereals allocated to human food vs. gdp per capita rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa 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.