Number of severely food insecure female adults (million) (3-year average) — Confidence interval: Upper bound by country
The Suite of Food Security Indicators presents the core set of food security indicators. Following the recommendation of experts gathered in the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) Round Table on hunger measurement, hosted at FAO headquarters in September 2011, an initial set of indicators aiming to capture...
What the numbers show
Number of severely food insecure female adults (million) (3-year average) — Confidence interval: Upper bound is currently reported for 80 countries. The highest value is 19.2 million No in Nigeria; the lowest is 0.1 million No in Greece.
The median across all reporting countries is 0.7 million No, and the mean is 1.66 million No.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 192.
Over the past decade 47 countries rose and 15 fell. The largest increase was in Pakistan (up 650.0%), and the largest decrease in Poland (down 50.0%).
Number of severely food insecure female adults (million) (3-year): full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nigeria | 19.2 million No | 2023 | up 242.9% | rising |
| 2 | Ethiopia | 8.1 million No | 2023 | up 47.3% | rising |
| 3 | Pakistan | 6 million No | 2023 | up 650.0% | volatile |
| 4 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 13.9 million No | 2023 | up 37.6% | rising |
| 4 | Egypt | 5.8 million No | 2023 | up 52.6% | rising |
| 5 | Kenya | 5.1 million No | 2023 | up 112.5% | rising |
| 6 | Afghanistan | 4.9 million No | 2023 | up 172.2% | rising |
| 6 | United Republic of Tanzania | 4.8 million No | 2023 | up 33.3% | rising |
| 7 | Malawi | 4.1 million No | 2023 | up 64.0% | rising |
| 7 | Iran (Islamic Republic of) | 1.7 million No | 2023 | down 48.5% | falling |
| 8 | Argentina | 2.5 million No | 2023 | up 92.3% | rising |
| 8 | Melanesia | 1.1 million No | 2023 | up 22.2% | rising |
| 8 | Viet Nam | 1.1 million No | 2023 | up 450.0% | volatile |
| 9 | Cameroon | 2.4 million No | 2023 | up 33.3% | rising |
| 9 | South Sudan | 2.4 million No | 2023 | up 20.0% | rising |
| 10 | Lao People's Democratic Republic | 0.2 million No | 2023 | down 33.3% | falling |
| 11 | South Africa | 2.3 million No | 2023 | up 21.1% | rising |
| 12 | Haiti | 2 million No | 2023 | up 5.3% | rising |
| 12 | Myanmar | 2 million No | 2023 | up 233.3% | rising |
| 12 | Uganda | 2 million No | 2023 | down 9.1% | falling |
| 15 | Angola | 1.9 million No | 2023 | down 26.9% | falling |
| 16 | Mexico | 1.8 million No | 2023 | unchanged | flat |
| 17 | Madagascar | 1.7 million No | 2023 | up 88.9% | rising |
| 18 | Guatemala | 1.6 million No | 2023 | up 60.0% | rising |
| 18 | Nepal | 1.6 million No | 2023 | up 33.3% | rising |
| 18 | Zimbabwe | 1.6 million No | 2023 | down 5.9% | falling |
| 21 | Chad | 1.5 million No | 2023 | up 15.4% | falling |
| 22 | Philippines | 1.4 million No | 2023 | up 7.7% | falling |
| 22 | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | 1.4 million No | 2023 | up 40.0% | rising |
| 24 | Colombia | 1.3 million No | 2023 | up 30.0% | rising |
| 24 | Algeria | 1.3 million No | 2023 | down 43.5% | falling |
| 24 | Zambia | 1.3 million No | 2023 | up 18.2% | flat |
| 27 | Ukraine | 1.2 million No | 2023 | up 71.4% | rising |
| 28 | France | 1.1 million No | 2023 | up 83.3% | rising |
| 28 | Ghana | 1.1 million No | 2023 | up 120.0% | rising |
| 30 | Ecuador | 1 million No | 2023 | up 100.0% | rising |
| 30 | Sierra Leone | 1 million No | 2023 | up 66.7% | rising |
| 32 | Dominican Republic | 0.8 million No | 2023 | down 20.0% | falling |
| 33 | Brazil | 0.7 million No | 2023 | down 22.2% | volatile |
| 33 | Spain | 0.7 million No | 2023 | up 133.3% | rising |
| 33 | Liberia | 0.7 million No | 2023 | up 16.7% | rising |
| 33 | Malaysia | 0.7 million No | 2023 | down 12.5% | falling |
| 33 | Australia and New Zealand | 0.7 million No | 2023 | up 75.0% | rising |
| 36 | Côte d'Ivoire | 0.8 million No | 2023 | up 60.0% | rising |
| 38 | Australia | 0.6 million No | 2023 | up 50.0% | rising |
| 38 | Benin | 0.6 million No | 2023 | up 50.0% | rising |
| 38 | Burkina Faso | 0.6 million No | 2023 | up 50.0% | rising |
| 38 | Honduras | 0.6 million No | 2023 | up 20.0% | rising |
| 38 | Peru | 0.6 million No | 2023 | up 50.0% | rising |
| 38 | Romania | 0.6 million No | 2023 | down 14.3% | rising |
| 44 | Germany | 0.5 million No | 2023 | down 16.7% | rising |
| 44 | Niger | 0.5 million No | 2023 | down 16.7% | falling |
| 44 | Tunisia | 0.5 million No | 2023 | unchanged | rising |
| 47 | Canada | 0.4 million No | 2023 | up 300.0% | volatile |
| 47 | Libya | 0.4 million No | 2023 | up 33.3% | rising |
| 47 | El Salvador | 0.4 million No | 2023 | unchanged | rising |
| 47 | Netherlands (Kingdom of the) | 0.4 million No | 2023 | up 300.0% | rising |
| 51 | Chile | 0.3 million No | 2023 | unchanged | rising |
| 51 | Hungary | 0.3 million No | 2023 | up 200.0% | rising |
| 51 | Jamaica | 0.3 million No | 2023 | unchanged | falling |
| 51 | Cambodia | 0.3 million No | 2023 | unchanged | rising |
| 51 | Lebanon | 0.3 million No | 2023 | up 50.0% | rising |
| 51 | Namibia | 0.3 million No | 2023 | unchanged | flat |
| 51 | Senegal | 0.3 million No | 2023 | unchanged | flat |
| 51 | Togo | 0.3 million No | 2023 | unchanged | falling |
| 51 | Thailand | 0.3 million No | 2023 | unchanged | flat |
| 51 | Republic of Korea | 0.3 million No | 2023 | up 50.0% | rising |
| 61 | Botswana | 0.2 million No | 2023 | unchanged | rising |
| 61 | Gambia | 0.2 million No | 2023 | unchanged | flat |
| 61 | Lesotho | 0.2 million No | 2023 | unchanged | flat |
| 61 | Mali | 0.2 million No | 2023 | unchanged | falling |
| 61 | Mauritania | 0.2 million No | 2023 | — | rising |
| 61 | Poland | 0.2 million No | 2021 | down 50.0% | falling |
| 61 | Portugal | 0.2 million No | 2023 | down 33.3% | falling |
| 61 | Paraguay | 0.2 million No | 2023 | up 100.0% | rising |
| 61 | Serbia | 0.2 million No | 2021 | up 100.0% | rising |
| 61 | Tajikistan | 0.2 million No | 2023 | unchanged | rising |
| 71 | Albania | 0.1 million No | 2023 | unchanged | falling |
| 71 | Georgia | 0.1 million No | 2023 | unchanged | falling |
| 71 | Greece | 0.1 million No | 2023 | down 50.0% | falling |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- World 292.7 million No
- Asia 164.4 million No
- Lower-middle-income economies 190.3 million No
- Least Developed Countries (LDCs) 78.1 million No
- Central Asia and Southern Asia 138.4 million No
- Middle Africa 21.5 million No
- Southern Asia 137.5 million No
- Africa 99.7 million No
- Small island developing States (SIDS) 6.5 million No
- Sub-Saharan Africa 88.2 million No
- Low Income Food Deficit Countries (LIFDCs) 74.9 million No
- Low-income economies 52.4 million No
- Eastern Africa 37.3 million No
- Land Locked Developing Countries (LLDCs) 31.9 million No
- Upper-middle-income economies 31.7 million No
- Western Africa 27.7 million No
- Western Asia and Northern Africa 27.1 million No
- Latin America and the Caribbean 19.2 million No
- Western Asia 15.3 million No
- Eastern Asia and South-eastern Asia 13 million No
- Northern Africa 12.2 million No
- High-income economies 12 million No
- Northern America and Europe 11.2 million No
- South America 9.4 million No
- Europe 8.9 million No
- Eastern Asia 7.9 million No
- South-Eastern Asia 5.5 million No
- Central America 5.2 million No
- Caribbean 5.1 million No
- Northern Europe 3.8 million No
- Southern Africa 3.1 million No
- Northern America 2.4 million No
- Eastern Europe 2.4 million No
- Western Europe 2 million No
- United States of America 2 million No
- Oceania 1.8 million No
- Southern Europe 1.3 million No
- Oceania excluding Australia and New Zealand 1.1 million No
- Central Asia 1 million No
About this data
The Suite of Food Security Indicators presents the core set of food security indicators. Following the recommendation of experts gathered in the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) Round Table on hunger measurement, hosted at FAO headquarters in September 2011, an initial set of indicators aiming to capture various aspects of food insecurity is presented here. The choice of the indicators has been informed by expert judgement and the availability of data with sufficient coverage to enable comparisons across regions and over time. Many of these indicators are produced and published elsewhere by FAO and other international organizations. They are reported here in a single database with the aim of building a wide food security information system. More indicators will be added to this set as more data will become available. Indicators are classified along the four dimensions of food security -- availability, access, utilization and stability.