Peru vs South Africa: Number of people who are moderately or severely food insecure
Peru
13.90 million people
in 2023
South Africa
13.10 million people
in 2023
Peru rank
23rd
South Africa rank
25th
Number of people who are moderately or severely food insecure over time
- Peru
- South Africa
How they compare
Peru currently reports 13.90 million people against 13.10 million people in South Africa, a difference of 800,000 people.
That makes Peru's figure about 1.1 times South Africa's.
Across all 6 years both countries report, Peru has been ahead every year.
Peru ranks 23rd and South Africa ranks 25th of 126 countries.
Peru has averaged higher in every one of the 2 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Peru | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 11.65 million people | 10.50 million people | 1.15 million people | Peru |
| 2020s | 13.68 million people | 12.20 million people | 1.48 million people | Peru |
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, Peru or South Africa?
- Peru, at 13.90 million people against 13.10 million people in South Africa as of 2023.
- What is the difference in number of people who are moderately or severely food insecure between Peru and South Africa?
- 800,000 people, with Peru ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Peru and South Africa?
- 6 years are reported by both, from 2018 to 2023.
- How do Peru and South Africa rank globally for number of people who are moderately or severely food insecure?
- Peru ranks 23rd and South Africa ranks 25th 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.