Number of people who are undernourished in Nigeria

Nigeria: Number of people who are undernourished was 45.40 million millions in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
45.40 million millions
Change on year
up 8.9%
World rank
2nd
of 131 countries
All-time high
45.40 million millions
in 2023
All-time low
11.30 million millions
in 2001
Years of data
23
2001–2023

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

10.0M20.0M30.0M40.0M50.0M2001201220232001: 11.3M millions2002: 11.6M millions2003: 12.1M millions2004: 12.6M millions2005: 13.2M millions2006: 13.8M millions2007: 14.4M millions2008: 15.1M millions2009: 16.0M millions2010: 17.4M millions2011: 19.0M millions2012: 20.6M millions2013: 20.7M millions2014: 20.6M millions2015: 20.3M millions2016: 21.1M millions2017: 23.1M millions2018: 24.9M millions2019: 29.9M millions2020: 33.8M millions2021: 38.6M millions2022: 41.7M millions2023: 45.4M 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 Nigeria is 45.40 million millions, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 23 years on record.

The figure is up 8.9% on the previous year and up 119.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of people who are undernourished in Nigeria peaked at 45.40 million millions in 2023 and was at its lowest, 11.30 million millions, in 2001.

That places Nigeria 2nd 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 13.34 million millions 11.30 million millions 16.00 million millions 9
2010s 21.76 million millions 17.40 million millions 29.90 million millions 10
2020s 39.88 million millions 33.80 million millions 45.40 million millions 4

Countries ranked near Nigeria

  1. 1 India 172.10 million millions compare
  2. 3 Pakistan 40.90 million millions compare
  3. 4 Democratic Republic of Congo 40.70 million millions compare
  4. 5 China 38.50 million millions compare

See the full ranking of 131 places →

More reference data data for Nigeria

All data for Nigeria →

Frequently asked questions

What is number of people who are undernourished in Nigeria?
Number of people who are undernourished in Nigeria was 45.40 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 Nigeria?
The highest recorded value was 45.40 million millions in 2023.
What is the lowest number of people who are undernourished recorded in Nigeria?
The lowest recorded value was 11.30 million millions in 2001.
How does Nigeria rank for number of people who are undernourished?
Nigeria ranks 2nd out of 131 countries with data for 2023.
Is number of people who are undernourished rising or falling in Nigeria?
Over the last ten years it is up 119.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Nigeria 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.