Ethiopia vs Nigeria: Number of people who are moderately or severely food insecure
Ethiopia
79.10 million people
in 2023
Nigeria
170.40 million people
in 2023
Ethiopia rank
4th
Nigeria rank
1st
Number of people who are moderately or severely food insecure over time
- Ethiopia
- Nigeria
How they compare
Nigeria currently reports 170.40 million people against 79.10 million people in Ethiopia, a difference of 91.30 million people.
That makes Nigeria's figure about 2.2 times Ethiopia's.
Across all 9 years both countries report, Nigeria has been ahead every year.
Ethiopia ranks 4th and Nigeria ranks 1st of 126 countries.
Nigeria has averaged higher in every one of the 2 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Ethiopia | Nigeria | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 63.26 million people | 87.20 million people | 23.94 million people | Nigeria |
| 2020s | 72.75 million people | 155.55 million people | 82.80 million people | Nigeria |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher number of people who are moderately or severely food insecure, Ethiopia or Nigeria?
- Nigeria, at 170.40 million people against 79.10 million people in Ethiopia as of 2023.
- What is the difference in number of people who are moderately or severely food insecure between Ethiopia and Nigeria?
- 91.30 million people, with Nigeria ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Ethiopia and Nigeria?
- 9 years are reported by both, from 2015 to 2023.
- How do Ethiopia and Nigeria rank globally for number of people who are moderately or severely food insecure?
- Ethiopia ranks 4th and Nigeria ranks 1st of 126 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Number of people who are moderately or severely food insecure. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Food insecurity is defined by the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES). Moderate food insecurity is associated with the inability to regularly eat healthy, nutritious diets. Severe food insecurity is related to insufficient quantity of food.