Number of people who are undernourished in Ethiopia

Ethiopia: Number of people who are undernourished was 25.40 million millions in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
25.40 million millions
Change on year
up 0.4%
World rank
6th
of 131 countries
All-time high
32.10 million millions
in 2001
All-time low
13.90 million millions
in 2016
Years of data
23
2001–2023

Number of people who are undernourished in Ethiopia, 2001–2023

010.0M20.0M30.0M2001201220232001: 32.1M millions2002: 30.9M millions2003: 30.7M millions2004: 29.7M millions2005: 28.5M millions2006: 26.4M millions2007: 24.4M millions2008: 22.5M millions2009: 21.0M millions2010: 20.3M millions2011: 19.7M millions2012: 18.9M millions2013: 17.4M millions2014: 15.3M millions2015: 14.1M millions2016: 13.9M millions2017: 15.5M millions2018: 18.1M millions2019: 21.5M millions2020: 24.1M millions2021: 25.2M millions2022: 25.3M millions2023: 25.4M millions

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for number of people who are undernourished in Ethiopia is 25.40 million millions, measured in 2023.

That represents a change of up 0.4% on the previous year and up 46.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of people who are undernourished in Ethiopia peaked at 32.10 million millions in 2001 and was at its lowest, 13.90 million millions, in 2016.

That places Ethiopia 6th out of 131 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 27.36 million millions 21.00 million millions 32.10 million millions 9
2010s 17.47 million millions 13.90 million millions 21.50 million millions 10
2020s 25.00 million millions 24.10 million millions 25.40 million millions 4

Countries ranked near Ethiopia

  1. 3 Pakistan 40.90 million millions compare
  2. 4 Democratic Republic of Congo 40.70 million millions compare
  3. 5 China 38.50 million millions compare
  4. 7 Kenya 20.40 million millions compare
  5. 8 Bangladesh 17.90 million millions compare
  6. 9 Indonesia 17.70 million millions compare

See the full ranking of 131 places →

More reference data data for Ethiopia

All data for Ethiopia →

Frequently asked questions

What is number of people who are undernourished in Ethiopia?
Number of people who are undernourished in Ethiopia was 25.40 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 Ethiopia?
The highest recorded value was 32.10 million millions in 2001.
What is the lowest number of people who are undernourished recorded in Ethiopia?
The lowest recorded value was 13.90 million millions in 2016.
How does Ethiopia rank for number of people who are undernourished?
Ethiopia ranks 6th out of 131 countries with data for 2023.
Is number of people who are undernourished rising or falling in Ethiopia?
Over the last ten years it is up 46.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Ethiopia 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.