Number of people who are undernourished in Botswana
Botswana: Number of people who are undernourished was 600,000 millions in 2023. ▲ Rising
Number of people who are undernourished in Botswana, 2001–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in millions.
Analysis
In 2023, number of people who are undernourished in Botswana stood at 600,000 millions. That is the highest value across all 23 years on record.
That represents a change of up 50.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of people who are undernourished in Botswana peaked at 600,000 millions in 2021 and was at its lowest, 400,000 millions, in 2012.
That places Botswana 74th out of 131 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.
Number of people who are undernourished in Botswana, year by year
| Year | millions | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 500,000 millions | — |
| 2002 | 500,000 millions | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 500,000 millions | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 500,000 millions | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 500,000 millions | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 500,000 millions | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 500,000 millions | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 500,000 millions | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 500,000 millions | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 500,000 millions | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 500,000 millions | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 400,000 millions | -20.0% |
| 2013 | 400,000 millions | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 400,000 millions | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 400,000 millions | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 500,000 millions | +25.0% |
| 2017 | 500,000 millions | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 500,000 millions | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 500,000 millions | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 500,000 millions | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 600,000 millions | +20.0% |
| 2022 | 600,000 millions | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 600,000 millions | +0.0% |
Botswana compared with similar countries
- Botswana's 600,000 millions is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 500,000 millions, 1.2× the median. (48 countries reporting)
- Botswana's 600,000 millions is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 2.10 million millions, 29% of the median. (43 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 500,000 millions | 500,000 millions | 500,000 millions | 9 |
| 2010s | 460,000 millions | 400,000 millions | 500,000 millions | 10 |
| 2020s | 575,000 millions | 500,000 millions | 600,000 millions | 4 |
Countries ranked near Botswana
- 71 Saudi Arabia 800,000 millions compare
- 71 Togo 800,000 millions compare
- 71 Uzbekistan 800,000 millions compare
- 74 Gabon 600,000 millions compare
- 76 Chile 500,000 millions compare
- 76 Gambia 500,000 millions compare
- 76 Guinea-Bissau 500,000 millions compare
- 76 Lebanon 500,000 millions compare
- 76 Namibia 500,000 millions compare
More reference data data for Botswana
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0472 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.42 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0078 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 1.42 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.1582 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.0825 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 6.97 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 7.25 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0424 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of people who are undernourished in Botswana?
- Number of people who are undernourished in Botswana was 600,000 millions 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 undernourished recorded in Botswana?
- The highest recorded value was 600,000 millions in 2021.
- What is the lowest number of people who are undernourished recorded in Botswana?
- The lowest recorded value was 400,000 millions in 2012.
- How does Botswana rank for number of people who are undernourished?
- Botswana ranks 74th out of 131 countries with data for 2023.
- Is number of people who are undernourished rising or falling in Botswana?
- Over the last ten years it is up 50.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Botswana 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 undernourished. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 23 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Undernourishment is measured as having a caloric intake that is insufficient to meet the minimum energy requirements necessary for a given individual.