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Indicator

Undernourishment by African country

2024

Share of the population whose food intake is insufficient for an active, healthy life.

Africa, 202449 of 54 countries
19.9%population-weighted average
Highest in 2024Somalia · 56.5%Lowest in 2024Seychelles · 2.5%Reported in 202449 of 54 countries surveyed
Click a country to pin it — pinned countries are named on the map. Hatching means no record.
Western Sahara — no separate recordTanzania — 19.1%Democratic Republic of the Congo — 39.5%Somalia — 56.5%Kenya — 34.9%Sudan — no dataChad — 33.6%South Africa — 11.2%Lesotho — no dataZimbabwe — 18.4%Botswana — 18.2%Namibia — 20.1%Senegal — 5.3%Mali — 12.1%Mauritania — 11.0%Benin — 11.1%Niger — 12.9%Nigeria — 22.2%Cameroon — 4.9%Togo — 10.2%Ghana — 6.4%Cote d'Ivoire — 11.4%Guinea — 8.7%Guinea-Bissau — 20.0%Liberia — 37.3%Sierra Leone — 25.3%Burkina Faso — 11.7%Central African Republic — 29.8%Republic of the Congo — 25.0%Gabon — 23.3%Equatorial Guinea — no dataZambia — 41.0%Malawi — 24.5%Mozambique — 22.3%Eswatini — 15.1%Angola — 17.4%Burundi — no dataMadagascar — 41.8%Gambia — 17.5%Tunisia — 2.8%Algeria — 2.5%Eritrea — no dataMorocco — 6.5%Egypt — 8.4%Libya — 18.7%Ethiopia — 19.9%Djibouti — 14.7%Uganda — 20.9%Rwanda — 22.6%South Sudan — 19.1%Nigeria 22.2%Nigeria 22.2%Ethiopia 19.9%Ethiopia 19.9%Kenya 34.9%Kenya 34.9%South Africa 11.2%South Africa 11.2%2024HIGHEST IN 2024Somalia56.5%Madagascar41.8%Zambia41.0%Democratic Republic of the Congo39.5%Liberia37.3%LOWEST IN 2024Seychellesnot drawn2.5%Algeria2.5%Tunisia2.8%Mauritiusnot drawn4.9%Cameroon4.9%PINNEDEthiopia19.9%20 of 49Kenya34.9%6 of 49Nigeria22.2%16 of 49South Africa11.2%35 of 49OTHER ISLAND STATES · NOT DRAWNCabo Verdenot drawn8.1%Comorosnot drawn16.5%Sao Tome and Principenot drawn23.0%% of population · quintiles of the observed range2.5%8.4%14.7%19.1%24.5%56.5%no record
20142024
World Bank · national statistics offices · the provider's own estimates where a country has not reportedCC BY 4.0
Countries

By region

Population-weighted, so a region’s figure is the share of its people, not the average of its countries.
Middle Africa8 of 9 countries29.3%
Eastern Africa16 of 18 countries25.8%
Western Africa16 of 16 countries17.0%
Southern Africa4 of 5 countries11.9%
Northern Africa5 of 6 countries6.9%
Africaall 54 countries · 49 with a 2024 figure19.9%

What to know before you quote this

Specific to this series. For how we treat data generally, see methods.
Five countries have no usable 2024 recordNot a low value — no figure within the window. Burundi, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Lesotho and Sudan are hatched on the map and blank in the table.
Certainty is judged year by yearA country can be Reported in one year and Modelled the next. The tag follows the year on the scrubber, so the 2024 assessment is not a verdict on the whole series.

About this data

UndernourishmentShare of the population whose food intake is insufficient for an active, healthy life.
SourceWorld Bank, with processing by Africa API
Unit% of population
Last updated15 Oct 2026
Next expected updateOct 2027
Date range2001–2024
Coverage49 of 54 countries · 49 reported, 0 modelled, 5 with no usable figure

How the figure is made

ReportedA national statistics office or the original provider published the figure for that year directly. 49 countries did so for 2024 — the certainty shown on this page is that 2024 assessment, not a per-series one.ModelledNo direct figure that year. The provider’s own estimate, interpolation or projection stands in, and is marked as such wherever it appears.No dataNo usable figure within the window. Drawn hatched on the map and left blank in the table — not zero, and not filled in.

These three states are used the same way across every indicator on the site — how we treat certainty explains the full set and what we never do to a number.

Reuse and cite

Everything on this page is open under CC BY 4.0 — use it anywhere, including commercially, as long as Africa API and the original provider are credited. The provider’s own licence still applies to their data.

How to cite this page
Africa API (2026) — "Undernourishment". Data adapted from World Bank. Retrieved 18 Oct 2026 from africa-api.com/indicators/undernourishment
The request behind this view
GET /v1/data?metric_key=undernourishment_pct&year=2024&limit=100

Read next

The measures that explain this one.
Food SecurityAcute Food InsecurityPeople in IPC/CH Phase 3 (Crisis) or worse — acute food insecurity requiring urgent action — from FEWS NET's latest current-situation estimate.EconomyGDPGross domestic product in current US dollars.EconomyGDP per CapitaGross domestic product divided by mid-year population, in current US dollars.

Undernourishment: most recent figure per country, highest to lowest

49 countries · each with its own period

The figures at the top of the page compare every country in the same year. This list takes each country’s newest figure instead, whatever its period, so the order can differ.

#CountryUndernourishmentPeriod
1Somalia56.5%2024
2Madagascar41.8%2024
3Zambia41%2024
4Democratic Republic of the Congo39.5%2024
5Liberia37.3%2024
6Kenya34.9%2024
7Chad33.6%2024
8Central African Republic29.8%2024
9Sierra Leone25.3%2024
10Republic of the Congo25%2024
11Malawi24.5%2024
12Gabon23.3%2024
13Sao Tome and Principe23%2024
14Rwanda22.6%2024
15Mozambique22.3%2024
16Nigeria22.2%2024
17Uganda20.9%2024
18Namibia20.1%2024
19Guinea-Bissau20%2024
20Ethiopia19.9%2024
21South Sudan19.1%2024
22Tanzania19.1%2024
23Libya18.7%2024
24Zimbabwe18.4%2024
25Botswana18.2%2024
26Gambia17.5%2024
27Angola17.4%2024
28Comoros16.5%2024
29Eswatini15.1%2024
30Djibouti14.7%2024
31Niger12.9%2024
32Mali12.1%2024
33Burkina Faso11.7%2024
34Cote d'Ivoire11.4%2024
35South Africa11.2%2024
36Benin11.1%2024
37Mauritania11%2024
38Togo10.2%2024
39Guinea8.7%2024
40Egypt8.4%2024
41Cabo Verde8.1%2024
42Morocco6.5%2024
43Ghana6.4%2024
44Senegal5.3%2024
45Cameroon4.9%2024
46Mauritius4.9%2024
47Tunisia2.8%2024
48Algeria2.5%2024
49Seychelles2.5%2024
Which observations are included?
The ranking includes 49 of 54 countries with available observations for 2023 or later and within 2 years of the freshest result. Each figure shows its reporting period. Countries without an eligible observation are omitted.
Does a higher value mean a better result?
The ranking is sorted by value, from highest to lowest. The order does not rate a country's performance. Interpretation depends on the indicator and its definition.

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