Visualizing Food Unaffordability Across The World

Food is the palate’s poetry, the body’s fuel, and a shared language transcending cultures… when people can afford it.

As Visual Capitalist’s Pallavi Rao details below, the World Health Organization found that the COVID-19 pandemic and war in Ukraine pushed 122 million more people into food insecurity between 2019 and 2022. Higher food prices, combined with increasing poverty, have resulted in rising food unaffordability, especially in certain regions of the world.

ℹ️ A person is food insecure when they lack regular access to enough safe and nutritious food for normal growth and development and an active and healthy life.

Ranked: Food Unaffordability as a Share of Population

A healthy diet—in this case, one that meets government dietary guidelines—is considered unaffordable in a country when its cost exceeds 52% of per capita income per day.

Immediate trends in food unaffordability are discoverable from a glance at the map. The wash of red in Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia indicates the regions where the majority of the population cannot afford a healthy diet.

Ranking the countries by pure percentages in the table below allows us to get a closer look at country-level issues.

Rank	Country	Can’t Afford Healthy Diet
1	???????? Madagascar	97.8%
2	???????? Burundi	95.9%
3	???????? Malawi	95.9%
4	???????? Central African Republic	94.6%
5	???????? Nigeria	93.5%
6	???????? Liberia	92.8%
7	???????? Haiti	92.6%
8	???????? Mozambique	92.5%
9	???????? Niger	92.0%
10	???????? Congo	91.5%
11	???????? Zambia	90.0%
12	???????? Guinea	89.1%
13	???????? Angola	88.0%
14	???????? Lesotho	87.9%
15	???????? DRC	85.5%
16	???????? Sudan	85.4%
17	???????? Tanzania	85.0%
18	???????? Guinea-Bissau	84.6%
19	???????? Ethiopia	83.8%
20	???????? Sierra Leone	83.5%
21	???????? Chad	83.1%
22	???????? Pakistan	82.8%
23	???????? Benin	82.6%
24	???????? Rwanda	82.0%
25	???????? Uganda	81.7%
26	???????? Sao Tome & Principe	78.2%
27	???????? Burkina Faso	77.6%
28	???????? Ghana	77.4%
29	???????? Nepal	76.4%
30	???????? India	74.1%
31	???????? Kenya	74.0%
32	???????? Laos	74.0%
33	???????? Philippines	74.0%
34	???????? Eswatini	73.8%
35	???????? Myanmar	73.8%
36	???????? Cote d’Ivoire	72.9%
37	???????? Gambia	72.2%
38	???????? Mali	72.0%
39	???????? Indonesia	70.8%
40	???????? South Africa	66.7%
41	???????? Bangladesh	66.1%
42	???????? Djibouti	65.3%
43	???????? Mongolia	64.1%
44	???????? Fiji	63.7%
45	???????? Jamaica	62.6%
46	???????? Mauritania	62.4%
47	???????? Egypt	61.6%
48	???????? Cameroon	60.5%
49	???????? Botswana	60.3%
50	???????? Namibia	59.5%
51	???????? Suriname	58.6%
52	???????? Kyrgyzstan	58.2%
53	???????? Sri Lanka	55.5%
54	???????? Belize	53.0%
55	???????? Bhutan	45.2%
56	???????? Senegal	45.0%
57	???????? Honduras	44.8%
58	???????? Tajikistan	44.3%
59	???????? Armenia	41.4%
60	???????? Cape Verde	41.2%
61	???????? Nicaragua	34.2%
62	???????? Algeria	32.4%
63	???????? Colombia	31.3%
64	???????? Iran	30.0%
65	???????? Gabon	29.9%
66	???????? Saint Lucia	27.2%
67	???????? Dominican Republic	25.8%
68	???????? Peru	25.7%
69	???????? Brazil	22.4%
70	???????? Vietnam	21.0%
71	???????? Paraguay	20.4%
72	???????? Mexico	20.2%
73	???????? Ecuador	19.7%
74	???????? Guyana	18.5%
75	???????? Iraq	18.4%
76	???????? Thailand	18.0%
77	???????? Tunisia	17.1%
78	???????? Panama	17.0%
79	???????? Albania	15.9%
80	???????? Morocco	15.5%
81	???????? North Macedonia	15.5%
82	???????? Palestine	15.4%
83	???????? Bolivia	15.1%
84	???????? Montenegro	14.9%
85	???????? Costa Rica	14.2%
86	???????? Mauritius	14.0%
87	???????? China	10.9%
88	???????? Serbia	10.9%
89	???????? Trinidad & Tobago	9.9%
90	???????? Seychelles	7.3%
91	???????? Romania	7.2%
92	???????? Jordan	7.1%
93	???????? Turkey	6.0%
94	???????? Uruguay	5.2%
95	???????? Bulgaria	4.2%
96	???????? Moldova	3.8%
97	???????? Chile	3.5%
98	???????? Bosnia & Herzegovina	3.0%
99	???????? Russia	2.6%
100	???????? Malaysia	2.5%
101	???????? Kazakhstan	2.3%
102	???????? Slovakia	2.3%
103	???????? Greece	2.2%
104	???????? Japan	2.0%
105	???????? Croatia	1.8%
106	???????? Spain	1.8%
107	???????? Hungary	1.5%
108	???????? Italy	1.5%
109	???????? Latvia	1.5%
110	???????? South Korea	1.5%
111	???????? Israel	1.2%
112	???????? Maldives	1.2%
113	???????? Portugal	1.2%
114	???????? U.S.	1.2%
115	???????? Austria	0.9%
116	???????? Estonia	0.8%
117	???????? Malta	0.8%
118	???????? Australia	0.7%
119	???????? Lithuania	0.7%
120	???????? Sweden	0.6%
121	???????? Belarus	0.5%
122	???????? Poland	0.5%
123	???????? Canada	0.4%
124	???????? UK	0.4%
125	???????? Norway	0.3%
126	???????? Denmark	0.2%
127	???????? France	0.2%
128	???????? Germany	0.2%
129	???????? Belgium	0.1%
130	???????? Czechia	0.1%
131	???????? Iceland	0.1%
132	???????? Ireland	0.1%
133	???????? Netherlands	0.1%
134	???????? UAE	0.1%
135	???????? Azerbaijan	0.0%
136	???????? Cyprus	0.0%
137	???????? Finland	0.0%
138	???????? Luxembourg	0.0%
139	???????? Slovenia	0.0%
140	???????? Switzerland	0.0%

At the top of the list, nearly 98% of Madagascar’s population cannot afford a healthy diet. The country is facing a prolonged drought in the southern region since 2019, affecting agriculture. A series of cyclones in 2021–2022 destroyed rice fields and damaged critical infrastructure, like road networks, putting further pressure on food prices. Finally, the rising price of oil due to the Russian invasion has pushed up transport costs. All these factors have resulted in food prices jumping nearly 20% in three years.

As a result, food insecurity in Madagascar has risen dramatically—by nearly one million people every year since 2019, of which 250,000 are classified under a “famine situation.”

A mix of similar factors affect the next five countries with the highest share of population unable to afford food—Burundi, Malawi, Central African Republic, Nigeria, and Liberia.

In Haiti, ranked 7th, a reliance on food imports makes the country vulnerable to inflation and price volatility, which has been markedly worse in the last two years.

On the other hand, predictably, the top five countries with the least food unaffordability—Cyprus, Finland, Luxembourg, Slovenia, and Switzerland—are all from Europe with 0% of the population unable to afford a healthy diet.

Geographically, eight out of 10 people in sub-Saharan Africa and seven out of 10 people in South Asia cannot afford a healthy diet versus three out of 10 in Europe and one out of 10 in North America.

Healthy Diet vs. Nutrient and Calorie Sufficiency

When reducing the quality of diet, food becomes a little more affordable.

For example, in Indonesia, nearly 71% of the population cannot afford a healthy diet. However this drops to 64% for a nutrient-sufficient diet, and only 3% for a calorie-sufficient diet.

Country	Can’t Afford a Healthy Diet	Can’t Afford a Nutrient-Sufficient Diet	Can’t afford a Calorie-Sufficient Diet
???????? Albania	15.9%	8.9%	0.0%
???????? Algeria	32.4%	6.2%	0.1%
???????? Angola	88.0%	71.1%	36.0%
???????? Argentina	N/A	4.0%	0.2%
???????? Armenia	41.4%	14.3%	0.5%
???????? Australia	0.7%	0.5%	0.2%
???????? Austria	0.9%	0.5%	0.2%
???????? Azerbaijan	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
???????? Bangladesh	66.1%	48.6%	0.6%
???????? Belarus	0.5%	0.2%	0.0%
???????? Belgium	0.1%	0.3%	0.1%
???????? Belize	53.0%	57.0%	19.6%
???????? Benin	82.6%	81.9%	13.7%
???????? Bhutan	45.2%	26.2%	0.7%
???????? Bolivia	15.1%	19.1%	6.8%
???????? Bosnia & Herzegovina	3.0%	2.4%	0.0%
???????? Botswana	60.3%	44.3%	1.3%
???????? Brazil	22.4%	18.1%	3.5%
???????? Bulgaria	4.2%	6.3%	0.3%
???????? Burkina Faso	77.6%	76.2%	5.4%
???????? Burundi	95.9%	84.1%	41.5%
???????? Cameroon	60.5%	48.6%	15.7%
???????? Canada	0.4%	0.5%	0.0%
???????? Cape Verde	41.2%	29.7%	0.3%
???????? Central African Republic	94.6%	83.3%	67.0%
???????? Chad	83.1%	60.6%	11.3%
???????? Chile	3.5%	1.6%	0.2%
???????? China	10.9%	9.7%	0.2%
???????? Colombia	31.3%	20.3%	3.5%
???????? Congo	91.5%	80.8%	39.9%
???????? Costa Rica	14.2%	7.8%	0.7%
???????? Cote d’Ivoire	72.9%	39.6%	8.4%
???????? Croatia	1.8%	3.3%	0.3%
???????? Cyprus	0.0%	0.1%	0.0%
???????? Czechia	0.1%	0.1%	0.0%
???????? DRC	85.5%	86.9%	27.9%
???????? Denmark	0.2%	0.2%	0.1%
???????? Djibouti	65.3%	59.0%	5.6%
???????? Dominican Republic	25.8%	15.8%	1.3%
???????? Ecuador	19.7%	14.8%	4.4%
???????? Egypt	61.6%	33.5%	1.0%
???????? Estonia	0.8%	0.8%	0.2%
???????? Eswatini	73.8%	64.4%	26.6%
???????? Ethiopia	83.8%	62.7%	7.7%
???????? Fiji	63.7%	21.3%	0.2%
???????? Finland	0.0%	0.1%	0.1%
???????? France	0.2%	0.0%	0.0%
???????? Gabon	29.9%	16.3%	1.3%
???????? Gambia	72.2%	63.9%	10.6%
???????? Germany	0.2%	0.7%	0.2%
???????? Ghana	77.4%	62.9%	14.9%
???????? Greece	2.2%	2.5%	0.5%
???????? Guinea	89.1%	61.6%	8.6%
???????? Guinea-Bissau	84.6%	59.7%	18.3%
???????? Guyana	18.5%	31.7%	4.4%
???????? Haiti	92.6%	73.8%	23.5%
???????? Honduras	44.8%	49.9%	14.3%
???????? Hungary	1.5%	1.9%	0.3%
???????? Iceland	0.1%	0.0%	0.0%
???????? India	74.1%	64.0%	3.2%
???????? Indonesia	70.8%	7.0%	4.3%
???????? Iran	30.0%	5.0%	0.2%
???????? Iraq	18.4%	5.8%	0.1%
???????? Ireland	0.1%	0.3%	0.2%
???????? Israel	1.2%	1.2%	0.2%
???????? Italy	1.5%	2.1%	1.0%
???????? Jamaica	62.6%	36.6%	0.9%
???????? Japan	2.0%	1.4%	1.2%
???????? Jordan	7.1%	0.1%	0.0%
???????? Kazakhstan	2.3%	0.5%	0.0%
???????? Kenya	74.0%	57.0%	11.6%
???????? Kyrgyzstan	58.2%	38.9%	0.7%
???????? Laos	74.0%	61.1%	0.8%
???????? Latvia	1.5%	1.7%	0.2%
???????? Lesotho	87.9%	63.3%	10.7%
???????? Liberia	92.8%	82.7%	20.2%
???????? Lithuania	0.7%	1.6%	0.8%
???????? Luxembourg	0.0%	0.4%	0.1%
???????? Madagascar	97.8%	96.0%	78.3%
???????? Malawi	95.9%	83.2%	2.4%
???????? Malaysia	2.5%	0.9%	0.0%
???????? Maldives	1.2%	0.6%	0.0%
???????? Mali	72.0%	57.5%	1.9%
???????? Malta	0.8%	0.3%	0.1%
???????? Mauritania	62.4%	48.3%	2.7%
???????? Mauritius	14.0%	4.4%	0.0%
???????? Mexico	20.2%	17.2%	0.7%
???????? Moldova	3.8%	0.3%	0.0%
???????? Mongolia	64.1%	14.4%	0.1%
???????? Montenegro	14.9%	9.1%	1.6%
???????? Morocco	15.5%	6.5%	0.0%
???????? Mozambique	92.5%	83.3%	13.2%
???????? Myanmar	73.8%	42.7%	0.7%
???????? Namibia	59.5%	33.6%	13.9%
???????? Nepal	76.4%	51.0%	2.6%
???????? Netherlands	0.1%	0.3%	0.0%
???????? Nicaragua	34.2%	21.2%	5.7%
???????? Niger	92.0%	77.1%	13.6%
???????? Nigeria	93.5%	69.4%	44.4%
???????? North Macedonia	15.5%	16.8%	2.6%
???????? Norway	0.3%	0.5%	0.3%
???????? Pakistan	82.8%	40.9%	0.3%
???????? Palestine	15.4%	2.4%	0.6%
???????? Panama	17.0%	12.1%	2.2%
???????? Paraguay	20.4%	24.4%	0.5%
???????? Peru	25.7%	16.5%	2.7%
???????? Philippines	74.0%	53.1%	6.9%
???????? Poland	0.5%	0.1%	0.0%
???????? Portugal	1.2%	0.7%	0.1%
???????? Romania	7.2%	8.0%	0.9%
???????? Russia	2.6%	0.8%	0.0%
???????? Rwanda	82.0%	61.3%	28.1%
???????? Saint Lucia	27.2%	16.7%	4.6%
???????? Sao Tome & Principe	78.2%	63.4%	8.0%
???????? Senegal	45.0%	43.2%	3.3%
???????? Serbia	10.9%	14.3%	3.2%
???????? Seychelles	7.3%	2.5%	0.1%
???????? Sierra Leone	83.5%	73.3%	34.9%
???????? Slovakia	2.3%	1.4%	0.1%
???????? Slovenia	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
???????? South Africa	66.7%	60.3%	24.2%
???????? South Korea	1.5%	1.5%	0.0%
???????? Spain	1.8%	1.0%	0.5%
???????? Sri Lanka	55.5%	22.8%	0.6%
???????? Sudan	85.4%	58.7%	15.3%
???????? Suriname	58.6%	34.2%	15.8%
???????? Sweden	0.6%	0.4%	0.2%
???????? Switzerland	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
???????? Taiwan	N/A	0.2%	0.0%
???????? Tajikistan	44.3%	33.3%	2.3%
???????? Tanzania	85.0%	75.6%	36.8%
???????? Thailand	18.0%	7.0%	0.0%
???????? Trinidad & Tobago	9.9%	3.4%	0.2%
???????? Tunisia	17.1%	1.9%	0.0%
???????? Turkey	6.0%	3.1%	0.0%
???????? Uganda	81.7%	68.9%	13.9%
???????? UAE	0.1%	0.0%	0.0%
???????? UK	0.4%	0.5%	0.2%
???????? U.S.	1.2%	1.5%	1.2%
???????? Uruguay	5.2%	0.8%	0.0%
???????? Vietnam	21.0%	11.7%	0.7%
???????? Zambia	90.0%	82.5%	65.1%
???????? Zimbabwe	N/A	10.6%	0.0%
???? World	42.20%	31.90%	4.90%

While the aim is to have every single person able to afford a healthy diet, it is useful to track progress across diets to see which countries are making strides in food affordability, whether it comes from growing incomes or improved supply.

At a regional level, these nuances reveal geographic differences in food unaffordability.

While sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia have comparable shares of population unable to afford healthy and nutrient sufficient diets, the gap widens immensely when looking at just calorie-sufficient diets, nearly 25% versus 2.6%.

For countries in South Asia, this could help target efforts to improve affordability for more than the most basic of diets.

Source: ZeroHedge

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