Number of people severely food insecure in United States of America

United States of America: Number of people severely food insecure was 3.30 million in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
3.30 million
Change on year
up 13.8%
World rank
28th
of 118 countries
All-time high
3.50 million
in 2015
All-time low
2.50 million
in 2020
Years of data
9
2015–2023

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

01.0M2.0M3.0M4.0M2015201920232015: 3.5M2016: 3.2M2017: 3.0M2018: 2.7M2019: 2.6M2020: 2.5M2021: 2.5M2022: 2.9M2023: 3.3M

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

In 2023, number of people severely food insecure in United States of America stood at 3.30 million.

That represents a change of up 13.8% on the previous year and down 5.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of people severely food insecure in United States of America peaked at 3.50 million in 2015 and was at its lowest, 2.50 million, in 2020.

That places United States of America 28th out of 118 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.

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

Annual values for Number of people severely food insecure in United States of America, 2015 to 2023.
Year Value Change
2015 3.50 million
2016 3.20 million -8.6%
2017 3.00 million -6.2%
2018 2.70 million -10.0%
2019 2.60 million -3.7%
2020 2.50 million -3.8%
2021 2.50 million +0.0%
2022 2.90 million +16.0%
2023 3.30 million +13.8%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 3.00 million 2.60 million 3.50 million 5
2020s 2.80 million 2.50 million 3.30 million 4

Countries ranked near United States of America

  1. 26 Zambia 3.60 million compare
  2. 27 Philippines 3.50 million compare
  3. 29 Ghana 3.20 million compare
  4. 30 Sierra Leone 2.80 million compare
  5. 31 Colombia 2.60 million compare
  6. 31 Côte d'Ivoire 2.60 million compare

See the full ranking of 118 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 severely food insecure in United States of America?
Number of people severely food insecure in United States of America was 3.30 million in 2023, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest number of people severely food insecure recorded in United States of America?
The highest recorded value was 3.50 million in 2015.
What is the lowest number of people severely food insecure recorded in United States of America?
The lowest recorded value was 2.50 million in 2020.
How does United States of America rank for number of people severely food insecure?
United States of America ranks 28th out of 118 countries with data for 2023.
Is number of people severely food insecure rising or falling in United States of America?
Over the last ten years it is down 5.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
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 severely food insecure. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Number of people severely food insecure in United States of America. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 24 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/number-of-people-severely-food-insecure/united-states/

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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