Share of cereals allocated to human food in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe: Share of cereals allocated to human food was 88.1% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Share of cereals allocated to human food in Zimbabwe, 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 Zimbabwe stood at 88.1%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.4% on the previous year and up 3.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of cereals allocated to human food in Zimbabwe peaked at 97.3% in 2007 and was at its lowest, 75.0%, in 1972.
Zimbabwe ranks 45th of 192 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Share of cereals allocated to human food in Zimbabwe, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 93.6% | — |
| 1962 | 91.6% | -2.1% |
| 1963 | 93.2% | +1.7% |
| 1964 | 84.1% | -9.7% |
| 1965 | 79.7% | -5.3% |
| 1966 | 85.0% | +6.7% |
| 1967 | 83.7% | -1.5% |
| 1968 | 82.9% | -1.0% |
| 1969 | 82.1% | -1.0% |
| 1970 | 81.9% | -0.3% |
| 1971 | 77.6% | -5.2% |
| 1972 | 75.0% | -3.4% |
| 1973 | 80.6% | +7.5% |
| 1974 | 81.0% | +0.5% |
| 1975 | 79.0% | -2.5% |
| 1976 | 79.4% | +0.5% |
| 1977 | 83.9% | +5.6% |
| 1978 | 89.2% | +6.3% |
| 1979 | 80.2% | -10.1% |
| 1980 | 81.2% | +1.2% |
| 1981 | 79.6% | -2.0% |
| 1982 | 82.0% | +3.1% |
| 1983 | 82.2% | +0.2% |
| 1984 | 82.4% | +0.2% |
| 1985 | 84.0% | +2.0% |
| 1986 | 88.0% | +4.8% |
| 1987 | 89.3% | +1.4% |
| 1988 | 90.9% | +1.7% |
| 1989 | 91.3% | +0.5% |
| 1990 | 91.5% | +0.2% |
| 1991 | 91.5% | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 91.9% | +0.4% |
| 1993 | 89.5% | -2.6% |
| 1994 | 89.5% | +0.1% |
| 1995 | 89.6% | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 86.6% | -3.3% |
| 1997 | 85.5% | -1.2% |
| 1998 | 87.2% | +2.0% |
| 1999 | 84.4% | -3.2% |
| 2000 | 81.2% | -3.8% |
| 2001 | 85.3% | +5.1% |
| 2002 | 90.6% | +6.2% |
| 2003 | 92.9% | +2.6% |
| 2004 | 96.1% | +3.5% |
| 2005 | 97.2% | +1.1% |
| 2006 | 96.3% | -0.9% |
| 2007 | 97.3% | +1.0% |
| 2008 | 96.8% | -0.5% |
| 2009 | 97.0% | +0.1% |
| 2010 | 85.0% | -12.3% |
| 2011 | 84.0% | -1.2% |
| 2012 | 83.2% | -1.0% |
| 2013 | 84.8% | +2.0% |
| 2014 | 81.2% | -4.2% |
| 2015 | 79.6% | -2.0% |
| 2016 | 84.4% | +6.1% |
| 2017 | 86.8% | +2.8% |
| 2018 | 89.9% | +3.6% |
| 2019 | 90.2% | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 79.2% | -12.3% |
| 2021 | 85.3% | +7.8% |
| 2022 | 89.3% | +4.7% |
| 2023 | 88.1% | -1.4% |
Zimbabwe compared with similar countries
- Zimbabwe's 88.1% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 75.2%, 1.2× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Zimbabwe's 88.1% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 88.3%, 100% of the median. (45 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 86.2% | 79.7% | 93.6% | 9 |
| 1970s | 80.8% | 75.0% | 89.2% | 10 |
| 1980s | 85.1% | 79.6% | 91.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 88.7% | 84.4% | 91.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 93.1% | 81.2% | 97.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 84.9% | 79.6% | 90.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 85.5% | 79.2% | 89.3% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Zimbabwe
More agriculture & rural data for Zimbabwe
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 34.41 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0947 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 286.19 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.8815 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.595 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 9.5% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 9.5% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.9% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.3% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of cereals allocated to human food in Zimbabwe?
- Share of cereals allocated to human food in Zimbabwe was 88.1% 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 Zimbabwe?
- The highest recorded value was 97.3% in 2007.
- What is the lowest share of cereals allocated to human food recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The lowest recorded value was 75.0% in 1972.
- How does Zimbabwe rank for share of cereals allocated to human food?
- Zimbabwe ranks 45th out of 192 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of cereals allocated to human food rising or falling in Zimbabwe?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zimbabwe 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.