Share of cereals allocated to human food in Tanzania
Tanzania: Share of cereals allocated to human food was 85.9% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Share of cereals allocated to human food in Tanzania, 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 in Tanzania stood at 85.9%.
The figure is down 1.2% on the previous year and down 1.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of cereals allocated to human food in Tanzania peaked at 96.7% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 80.4%, in 2008.
That places Tanzania 52nd 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 in Tanzania, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 94.4% | — |
| 1962 | 94.4% | +0.1% |
| 1963 | 93.7% | -0.7% |
| 1964 | 94.5% | +0.8% |
| 1965 | 94.4% | -0.1% |
| 1966 | 93.8% | -0.7% |
| 1967 | 94.0% | +0.2% |
| 1968 | 94.6% | +0.6% |
| 1969 | 94.3% | -0.3% |
| 1970 | 94.6% | +0.3% |
| 1971 | 94.5% | -0.1% |
| 1972 | 95.0% | +0.5% |
| 1973 | 95.0% | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 95.3% | +0.2% |
| 1975 | 94.3% | -1.1% |
| 1976 | 94.7% | +0.5% |
| 1977 | 94.3% | -0.4% |
| 1978 | 94.9% | +0.6% |
| 1979 | 94.1% | -0.8% |
| 1980 | 94.3% | +0.2% |
| 1981 | 94.3% | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 94.8% | +0.5% |
| 1983 | 94.7% | -0.1% |
| 1984 | 94.4% | -0.3% |
| 1985 | 94.1% | -0.3% |
| 1986 | 94.5% | +0.5% |
| 1987 | 94.6% | +0.1% |
| 1988 | 94.7% | +0.1% |
| 1989 | 93.8% | -0.9% |
| 1990 | 94.8% | +1.1% |
| 1991 | 95.3% | +0.5% |
| 1992 | 95.1% | -0.2% |
| 1993 | 95.2% | +0.1% |
| 1994 | 96.3% | +1.1% |
| 1995 | 95.2% | -1.1% |
| 1996 | 95.4% | +0.1% |
| 1997 | 95.7% | +0.4% |
| 1998 | 96.0% | +0.2% |
| 1999 | 96.6% | +0.6% |
| 2000 | 96.7% | +0.1% |
| 2001 | 96.6% | -0.1% |
| 2002 | 87.0% | -10.0% |
| 2003 | 87.1% | +0.1% |
| 2004 | 84.8% | -2.7% |
| 2005 | 81.5% | -3.9% |
| 2006 | 81.4% | -0.2% |
| 2007 | 83.9% | +3.2% |
| 2008 | 80.4% | -4.3% |
| 2009 | 86.4% | +7.5% |
| 2010 | 86.2% | -0.2% |
| 2011 | 86.2% | -0.0% |
| 2012 | 87.1% | +1.0% |
| 2013 | 87.3% | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 88.0% | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 88.2% | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 89.1% | +1.0% |
| 2017 | 88.6% | -0.6% |
| 2018 | 89.3% | +0.8% |
| 2019 | 87.6% | -1.9% |
| 2020 | 87.8% | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 87.6% | -0.2% |
| 2022 | 86.9% | -0.8% |
| 2023 | 85.9% | -1.2% |
Tanzania compared with similar countries
- Tanzania's 85.9% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 75.2%, 1.1× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Tanzania's 85.9% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 88.3%, 97% of the median. (45 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 94.2% | 93.7% | 94.6% | 9 |
| 1970s | 94.7% | 94.1% | 95.3% | 10 |
| 1980s | 94.4% | 93.8% | 94.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 95.6% | 94.8% | 96.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 86.6% | 80.4% | 96.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 87.8% | 86.2% | 89.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 87.1% | 85.9% | 87.8% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Tanzania
More agriculture & rural data for Tanzania
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 11.77 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.2291 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 292.74 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 1.74 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0005 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.6312 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 22.9% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 22.9% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.5% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.1% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of cereals allocated to human food in Tanzania?
- Share of cereals allocated to human food in Tanzania was 85.9% 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 Tanzania?
- The highest recorded value was 96.7% in 2000.
- What is the lowest share of cereals allocated to human food recorded in Tanzania?
- The lowest recorded value was 80.4% in 2008.
- How does Tanzania rank for share of cereals allocated to human food?
- Tanzania ranks 52nd out of 192 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of cereals allocated to human food rising or falling in Tanzania?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Tanzania 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.
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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.