Brazil vs South Africa: Number of people who are undernourished

Brazil
6.70 million millions
in 2022
South Africa
6.30 million millions
in 2023
Brazil rank
21st
South Africa rank
23rd

Number of people who are undernourished over time

  • Brazil
  • South Africa
05.0M10.0M15.0M20.0M200120122023

How they compare

Brazil currently reports 6.70 million millions against 6.30 million millions in South Africa, a difference of 400,000 millions.

That makes Brazil's figure about 1.1 times South Africa's.

Across all 14 years both countries report, Brazil has been ahead every year.

Brazil ranks 21st and South Africa ranks 23rd of 131 countries.

Brazil has averaged higher in every one of the 3 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade Brazil South Africa Difference Ahead
2000s 11.40 million millions 1.74 million millions 9.66 million millions Brazil
2010s 5.55 million millions 2.50 million millions 3.05 million millions Brazil
2020s 6.53 million millions 5.73 million millions 800,000 millions Brazil

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher number of people who are undernourished, Brazil or South Africa?
Brazil, at 6.70 million millions against 6.30 million millions in South Africa as of 2022.
What is the difference in number of people who are undernourished between Brazil and South Africa?
400,000 millions, with Brazil ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Brazil and South Africa?
14 years are reported by both, from 2001 to 2022.
How do Brazil and South Africa rank globally for number of people who are undernourished?
Brazil ranks 21st and South Africa ranks 23rd of 131 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 undernourished. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator
Number of people who are undernourished
Unit
millions
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
131 places, 2,706 data points, 2001–2023
Last refreshed

Undernourishment is measured as having a caloric intake that is insufficient to meet the minimum energy requirements necessary for a given individual.