Number of people moderately or severely food insecure in United States of America

United States of America: Number of people moderately or severely food insecure was 35.30 million in 2023. ▬ Flat

Latest (2023)
35.30 million
Change on year
up 11.0%
World rank
8th
of 126 countries
All-time high
35.30 million
in 2023
All-time low
27.00 million
in 2020
Years of data
9
2015–2023

Number of people moderately or severely food insecure in United States of America, 2015–2023

010.0M20.0M30.0M40.0M2015201920232015: 34.1M2016: 32.1M2017: 29.6M2018: 28.2M2019: 27.7M2020: 27.0M2021: 29.3M2022: 31.8M2023: 35.3M

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

United States of America recorded 35.30 million for number of people moderately or severely food insecure in 2023. That is the highest value across all 9 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 11.0% on the previous year and up 3.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of people moderately or severely food insecure in United States of America peaked at 35.30 million in 2023 and was at its lowest, 27.00 million, in 2020.

That places United States of America 8th out of 126 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.

Number of people moderately or severely food insecure in United States of America, year by year

Annual values for Number of people moderately or severely food insecure in United States of America, 2015 to 2023.
Year Value Change
2015 34.10 million
2016 32.10 million -5.9%
2017 29.60 million -7.8%
2018 28.20 million -4.7%
2019 27.70 million -1.8%
2020 27.00 million -2.5%
2021 29.30 million +8.5%
2022 31.80 million +8.5%
2023 35.30 million +11.0%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 30.34 million 27.70 million 34.10 million 5
2020s 30.85 million 27.00 million 35.30 million 4

Countries ranked near United States of America

  1. 5 Kenya 40.90 million compare
  2. 6 Tanzania, United Republic of 38.70 million compare
  3. 7 Philippines 37.80 million compare
  4. 8 Egypt 35.30 million compare
  5. 10 Iran, Islamic Republic of 35.20 million compare
  6. 11 Afghanistan 33.60 million compare

See the full ranking of 126 places →

More reference data data for United States of America

All data for United States of America →

Frequently asked questions

What is number of people moderately or severely food insecure in United States of America?
Number of people moderately or severely food insecure in United States of America was 35.30 million in 2023, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest number of people moderately or severely food insecure recorded in United States of America?
The highest recorded value was 35.30 million in 2023.
What is the lowest number of people moderately or severely food insecure recorded in United States of America?
The lowest recorded value was 27.00 million in 2020.
How does United States of America rank for number of people moderately or severely food insecure?
United States of America ranks 8th out of 126 countries with data for 2023.
Is number of people moderately or severely food insecure rising or falling in United States of America?
Over the last ten years it is up 3.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this United States of America data come from?
The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Number of people moderately or severely food insecure. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Number of people moderately or severely food insecure in United States of America. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 27 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/number-of-people-moderately-or-severely-food-insecure/united-states/

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About this data

Indicator
Number of people moderately or severely food insecure
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
126 places, 1,051 data points, 2015–2023
Last refreshed