Dietary composition by country in Democratic Republic of Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo: Dietary composition by country was 1.23 kilocalories per day per capita in 2023. ▲ Rising
Dietary composition by country in Democratic Republic of Congo, 2010–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in kilocalories per day per capita.
Analysis
Democratic Republic of Congo recorded 1.23 kilocalories per day per capita for dietary composition by country in 2023.
That represents a change of down 1.6% on the previous year and up 44.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, dietary composition by country in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 1.25 kilocalories per day per capita in 2022 and was at its lowest, 0.8 kilocalories per day per capita, in 2016.
Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 159th of 191 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 14 years of available data.
Dietary composition by country in Democratic Republic of Congo, year by year
| Year | kilocalories per day per capita | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 0.85 kilocalories per day per capita | — |
| 2011 | 0.89 kilocalories per day per capita | +4.7% |
| 2012 | 0.89 kilocalories per day per capita | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 0.85 kilocalories per day per capita | -4.5% |
| 2014 | 0.86 kilocalories per day per capita | +1.2% |
| 2015 | 0.8 kilocalories per day per capita | -7.0% |
| 2016 | 0.8 kilocalories per day per capita | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 0.81 kilocalories per day per capita | +1.3% |
| 2018 | 0.8 kilocalories per day per capita | -1.2% |
| 2019 | 0.83 kilocalories per day per capita | +3.7% |
| 2020 | 0.87 kilocalories per day per capita | +4.8% |
| 2021 | 1.04 kilocalories per day per capita | +19.5% |
| 2022 | 1.25 kilocalories per day per capita | +20.2% |
| 2023 | 1.23 kilocalories per day per capita | -1.6% |
Democratic Republic of Congo compared with similar countries
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 1.23 kilocalories per day per capita is below the median for low income countries, which is 3.83 kilocalories per day per capita, 32% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 1.23 kilocalories per day per capita is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 4.79 kilocalories per day per capita, 26% of the median. (45 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 0.838 kilocalories per day per capita | 0.8 kilocalories per day per capita | 0.89 kilocalories per day per capita | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.1 kilocalories per day per capita | 0.87 kilocalories per day per capita | 1.25 kilocalories per day per capita | 4 |
Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo
- 156 Chad 1.33 kilocalories per day per capita compare
- 157 China 1.26 kilocalories per day per capita compare
- 158 Vietnam 1.24 kilocalories per day per capita compare
- 160 Tunisia 1.12 kilocalories per day per capita compare
- 161 Belgium 1.1 kilocalories per day per capita compare
- 162 Argentina 0.9797 kilocalories per day per capita
More reference data data for Democratic Republic of Congo
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.44 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - Enteric 3,057 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 6.66 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - Burning - Crop 235.34 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - Manure left on Pasture 1,764 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.82 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - Manure Management 601.15 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CH4) - IPCC Agriculture 140.16 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 11.56 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - Manure applied to Soils 313.43 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is dietary composition by country in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Dietary composition by country in Democratic Republic of Congo was 1.23 kilocalories per day per capita in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest dietary composition by country recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 1.25 kilocalories per day per capita in 2022.
- What is the lowest dietary composition by country recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.8 kilocalories per day per capita in 2016.
- How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for dietary composition by country?
- Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 159th out of 191 countries with data for 2023.
- Is dietary composition by country rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is up 44.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Dietary composition by country. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Quantity that is available for consumption at the end of the supply chain. It does not account for consumer waste, so the quantity that is actually consumed may be lower.