Number of people who are moderately or severely food insecure in New Zealand
New Zealand: Number of people who are moderately or severely food insecure was 900,000 people in 2023. ▲ Rising
Number of people who are moderately or severely food insecure in New Zealand, 2015–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
In 2023, number of people who are moderately or severely food insecure in New Zealand stood at 900,000 people. That is the highest value across all 9 years on record.
That represents a change of up 12.5% on the previous year and up 80.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of people who are moderately or severely food insecure in New Zealand peaked at 900,000 people in 2023 and was at its lowest, 500,000 people, in 2015.
New Zealand ranks 86th of 126 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
Number of people who are moderately or severely food insecure in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 500,000 people | — |
| 2016 | 500,000 people | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 600,000 people | +20.0% |
| 2018 | 700,000 people | +16.7% |
| 2019 | 700,000 people | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 700,000 people | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 800,000 people | +14.3% |
| 2022 | 800,000 people | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 900,000 people | +12.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 600,000 people | 500,000 people | 700,000 people | 5 |
| 2020s | 800,000 people | 700,000 people | 900,000 people | 4 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
More reference data data for New Zealand
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.4532 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 9.92 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 10.93 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0459 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 10.93 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.52 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.53 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 42.17 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 47.53 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.2499 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of people who are moderately or severely food insecure in New Zealand?
- Number of people who are moderately or severely food insecure in New Zealand was 900,000 people in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest number of people who are moderately or severely food insecure recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 900,000 people in 2023.
- What is the lowest number of people who are moderately or severely food insecure recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 500,000 people in 2015.
- How does New Zealand rank for number of people who are moderately or severely food insecure?
- New Zealand ranks 86th out of 126 countries with data for 2023.
- Is number of people who are moderately or severely food insecure rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 80.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this New Zealand data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of people who are moderately or severely food insecure. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 9 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
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.