Number of people severely food insecure in Nigeria

Nigeria: Number of people severely food insecure was 55.30 million in 2023. β–² Rising

Latest (2023)
55.30 million
Change on year
up 9.7%
World rank
1st
of 118 countries
All-time high
55.30 million
in 2023
All-time low
21.10 million
in 2015
Years of data
9
2015–2023

Number of people severely food insecure in Nigeria, 2015–2023

020.0M40.0M60.0M2015201920232015: 21.1M2016: 24.0M2017: 27.2M2018: 30.9M2019: 36.3M2020: 42.3M2021: 46.5M2022: 50.4M2023: 55.3M

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

Nigeria recorded 55.30 million for number of people severely food insecure in 2023. That is the highest value across all 9 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 9.7% on the previous year and up 162.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of people severely food insecure in Nigeria peaked at 55.30 million in 2023 and was at its lowest, 21.10 million, in 2015.

Nigeria ranks 1st of 118 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 27.90 million 21.10 million 36.30 million 5
2020s 48.62 million 42.30 million 55.30 million 4

Countries ranked near Nigeria

  1. 2 Congo, Democratic Republic of the 45.00 million compare
  2. 3 Pakistan 25.00 million compare
  3. 4 Ethiopia, The Federal Democratic Republic of 24.50 million compare

See the full ranking of 118 places β†’

More reference data data for Nigeria

All data for Nigeria β†’

Frequently asked questions

What is number of people severely food insecure in Nigeria?
Number of people severely food insecure in Nigeria was 55.30 million in 2023, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest number of people severely food insecure recorded in Nigeria?
The highest recorded value was 55.30 million in 2023.
What is the lowest number of people severely food insecure recorded in Nigeria?
The lowest recorded value was 21.10 million in 2015.
How does Nigeria rank for number of people severely food insecure?
Nigeria ranks 1st out of 118 countries with data for 2023.
Is number of people severely food insecure rising or falling in Nigeria?
Over the last ten years it is up 162.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Nigeria data come from?
The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Number of people severely food insecure. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Number of people severely food insecure in Nigeria. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 19 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/number-of-people-severely-food-insecure/nigeria/

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About this data

Indicator
Number of people severely food insecure
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
118 places, 973 data points, 2015–2023
Last refreshed