Number of people who are undernourished in Democratic Republic of Congo

Democratic Republic of Congo: Number of people who are undernourished was 40.70 million millions in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
40.70 million millions
Change on year
up 6.5%
World rank
4th
of 131 countries
All-time high
40.70 million millions
in 2023
All-time low
14.00 million millions
in 2001
Years of data
23
2001–2023

Number of people who are undernourished in Democratic Republic of Congo, 2001–2023

10.0M20.0M30.0M40.0M2001201220232001: 14.0M millions2002: 14.6M millions2003: 15.1M millions2004: 15.6M millions2005: 16.1M millions2006: 16.6M millions2007: 17.2M millions2008: 17.9M millions2009: 18.9M millions2010: 19.7M millions2011: 21.0M millions2012: 22.3M millions2013: 23.3M millions2014: 24.4M millions2015: 25.7M millions2016: 27.1M millions2017: 28.4M millions2018: 29.3M millions2019: 31.7M millions2020: 33.8M millions2021: 36.3M millions2022: 38.2M millions2023: 40.7M millions

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in millions.

Analysis

Democratic Republic of Congo recorded 40.70 million millions for number of people who are undernourished in 2023. That is the highest value across all 23 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 6.5% on the previous year and up 74.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of people who are undernourished in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 40.70 million millions in 2023 and was at its lowest, 14.00 million millions, in 2001.

That places Democratic Republic of Congo 4th out of 131 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 16.22 million millions 14.00 million millions 18.90 million millions 9
2010s 25.29 million millions 19.70 million millions 31.70 million millions 10
2020s 37.25 million millions 33.80 million millions 40.70 million millions 4

Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo

  1. 1 India 172.10 million millions compare
  2. 2 Nigeria 45.40 million millions compare
  3. 3 Pakistan 40.90 million millions compare
  4. 5 China 38.50 million millions compare
  5. 6 Ethiopia 25.40 million millions compare
  6. 7 Kenya 20.40 million millions compare

See the full ranking of 131 places →

More reference data data for Democratic Republic of Congo

All data for Democratic Republic of Congo →

Frequently asked questions

What is number of people who are undernourished in Democratic Republic of Congo?
Number of people who are undernourished in Democratic Republic of Congo was 40.70 million 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 Democratic Republic of Congo?
The highest recorded value was 40.70 million millions in 2023.
What is the lowest number of people who are undernourished recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
The lowest recorded value was 14.00 million millions in 2001.
How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for number of people who are undernourished?
Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 4th out of 131 countries with data for 2023.
Is number of people who are undernourished rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
Over the last ten years it is up 74.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo 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

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About this data

Indicator
Number of people who are undernourished
Unit
millions
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
131 places, 2,706 data points, 2001–2023
Last refreshed

Undernourishment is measured as having a caloric intake that is insufficient to meet the minimum energy requirements necessary for a given individual.