Share of cereals allocated to human food in Canada
Canada: Share of cereals allocated to human food was 18.8% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Share of cereals allocated to human food 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
The most recent figure for share of cereals allocated to human food in Canada is 18.8%, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is 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 in Canada peaked at 18.8% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 8.8%, in 1971.
That places Canada 185th out of 191 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.
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 42.53 billion current US$ (2022)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 1.9% (2022)
- Rural population 7.13 million (2025)
- Rural population growth -0.1% (2025)
- Rural population 17.1% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.7% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.9% (2024)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 1.9% (2022)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 1.9% (2022)
- Land under cereal production 16.03 million hectares (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of cereals allocated to human food in Canada?
- Share of cereals allocated to human food 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 recorded in Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 18.8% in 2023.
- What is the lowest share of cereals allocated to human food recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.8% in 1971.
- How does Canada rank for share of cereals allocated to human food?
- Canada ranks 185th out of 191 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of cereals allocated to human food 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. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
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.