Potatoes and products — Food supply in South Africa
South Africa: Potatoes and products — Food supply was 56.63 kcal/cap/d in 2023. ▲ Rising
Potatoes and products — Food supply in South Africa, 2010–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in kcal/cap/d.
Analysis
The most recent figure for potatoes and products — food supply in South Africa is 56.63 kcal/cap/d, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of down 5.4% on the previous year and down 1.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, potatoes and products — food supply in South Africa peaked at 67.03 kcal/cap/d in 2020 and was at its lowest, 55.74 kcal/cap/d, in 2016.
That places South Africa 74th out of 164 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 14 years of available data.
Potatoes and products — Food supply in South Africa, year by year
| Year | kcal/cap/d | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 58.05 kcal/cap/d | — |
| 2011 | 57.52 kcal/cap/d | -0.9% |
| 2012 | 57.89 kcal/cap/d | +0.6% |
| 2013 | 57.21 kcal/cap/d | -1.2% |
| 2014 | 56.64 kcal/cap/d | -1.0% |
| 2015 | 56.37 kcal/cap/d | -0.5% |
| 2016 | 55.74 kcal/cap/d | -1.1% |
| 2017 | 58.14 kcal/cap/d | +4.3% |
| 2018 | 58.26 kcal/cap/d | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 57.74 kcal/cap/d | -0.9% |
| 2020 | 67.03 kcal/cap/d | +16.1% |
| 2021 | 63.8 kcal/cap/d | -4.8% |
| 2022 | 59.87 kcal/cap/d | -6.2% |
| 2023 | 56.63 kcal/cap/d | -5.4% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 56.63 kcal/cap/d is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 35.75 kcal/cap/d, 1.6× the median. (50 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 56.63 kcal/cap/d is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 14.72 kcal/cap/d, 3.8× the median. (33 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 57.36 kcal/cap/d | 55.74 kcal/cap/d | 58.26 kcal/cap/d | 10 |
| 2020s | 61.83 kcal/cap/d | 56.63 kcal/cap/d | 67.03 kcal/cap/d | 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 potatoes and products — food supply in South Africa?
- Potatoes and products — food supply in South Africa was 56.63 kcal/cap/d in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest potatoes and products — food supply recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 67.03 kcal/cap/d in 2020.
- What is the lowest potatoes and products — food supply recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 55.74 kcal/cap/d in 2016.
- How does South Africa rank for potatoes and products — food supply?
- South Africa ranks 74th out of 164 countries with data for 2023.
- Is potatoes and products — food supply rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Potatoes and products — Food supply (kcal/capita/day). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).
About this data
A food balance sheet presents a comprehensive picture of the pattern of a country's food supply during a specified reference period. The food balance sheet shows for each food item - i.e. each primary commodity and a number of processed commodities potentially available for human consumption - the sources of supply and its utilization. The total quantity of foodstuffs produced in a country added to the total quantity imported and adjusted to any change in stocks that may have occurred since the beginning of the reference period gives the supply available during that period. On the utilization side a distinction is made between the quantities exported, fed to livestock, used for seed, put to manufacture for food use and non-food uses, losses during storage and transportation, and food supplies available for human consumption. The per caput supply of each such food item available for human consumption is then obtained by dividing the respective quantity by the related data on the population actually partaking of it. Data on per capita food supplies are expressed in terms of quantity and - by applying appropriate food composition factors for all primary and processed products - also in terms of caloric value and protein and fat content.