Share of cereals allocated to human food in Zambia
Zambia: Share of cereals allocated to human food was 80.4% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Share of cereals allocated to human food in Zambia, 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 Zambia is 80.4%, measured in 2023.
The figure is down 2.8% on the previous year and down 6.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of cereals allocated to human food in Zambia peaked at 98.4% in 2005 and was at its lowest, 72.4%, in 1978.
Zambia ranks 61st of 192 countries on this measure, 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 Zambia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 92.8% | — |
| 1962 | 93.1% | +0.3% |
| 1963 | 94.5% | +1.5% |
| 1964 | 94.6% | +0.1% |
| 1965 | 94.7% | +0.1% |
| 1966 | 94.9% | +0.2% |
| 1967 | 94.9% | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 95.2% | +0.4% |
| 1969 | 95.2% | -0.1% |
| 1970 | 95.2% | +0.1% |
| 1971 | 95.4% | +0.2% |
| 1972 | 94.8% | -0.7% |
| 1973 | 95.5% | +0.8% |
| 1974 | 96.1% | +0.7% |
| 1975 | 96.4% | +0.2% |
| 1976 | 96.5% | +0.2% |
| 1977 | 96.7% | +0.2% |
| 1978 | 72.4% | -25.2% |
| 1979 | 97.1% | +34.2% |
| 1980 | 97.2% | +0.1% |
| 1981 | 97.3% | +0.1% |
| 1982 | 97.2% | -0.1% |
| 1983 | 97.4% | +0.1% |
| 1984 | 97.4% | +0.1% |
| 1985 | 97.4% | -0.0% |
| 1986 | 97.1% | -0.3% |
| 1987 | 97.5% | +0.4% |
| 1988 | 97.6% | +0.1% |
| 1989 | 97.5% | -0.1% |
| 1990 | 97.5% | -0.0% |
| 1991 | 97.5% | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 97.5% | -0.0% |
| 1993 | 97.5% | -0.0% |
| 1994 | 97.5% | +0.1% |
| 1995 | 98.1% | +0.6% |
| 1996 | 98.1% | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 98.0% | -0.0% |
| 1998 | 97.7% | -0.3% |
| 1999 | 97.3% | -0.5% |
| 2000 | 97.8% | +0.6% |
| 2001 | 97.9% | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 97.7% | -0.2% |
| 2003 | 98.1% | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 97.7% | -0.4% |
| 2005 | 98.4% | +0.7% |
| 2006 | 97.7% | -0.7% |
| 2007 | 98.1% | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 98.1% | -0.1% |
| 2009 | 93.7% | -4.5% |
| 2010 | 82.2% | -12.2% |
| 2011 | 86.1% | +4.7% |
| 2012 | 85.0% | -1.2% |
| 2013 | 85.7% | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 84.8% | -1.0% |
| 2015 | 84.8% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 85.4% | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 84.5% | -1.1% |
| 2018 | 86.3% | +2.1% |
| 2019 | 82.6% | -4.3% |
| 2020 | 77.5% | -6.1% |
| 2021 | 83.2% | +7.3% |
| 2022 | 82.8% | -0.5% |
| 2023 | 80.4% | -2.8% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 80.4% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 75.2%, 1.1× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 80.4% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 88.3%, 91% of the median. (45 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of cereals allocated to human food in Zambia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | +34.2% | 72.4% | 97.1% |
| 1978 | -25.2% | 96.7% | 72.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 94.4% | 92.8% | 95.2% | 9 |
| 1970s | 93.6% | 72.4% | 97.1% | 10 |
| 1980s | 97.4% | 97.1% | 97.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 97.7% | 97.3% | 98.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 97.5% | 93.7% | 98.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 84.7% | 82.2% | 86.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 81.0% | 77.5% | 83.2% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More agriculture & rural data for Zambia
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 65.37 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0411 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 54.11 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 1.97 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0004 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.5408 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 4.1% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 4.1% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.4% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.7% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of cereals allocated to human food in Zambia?
- Share of cereals allocated to human food in Zambia was 80.4% 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 Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 98.4% in 2005.
- What is the lowest share of cereals allocated to human food recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 72.4% in 1978.
- How does Zambia rank for share of cereals allocated to human food?
- Zambia ranks 61st out of 192 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of cereals allocated to human food rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Zambia 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.