Number of people who are undernourished in Zambia
Zambia: Number of people who are undernourished was 7.70 million millions in 2023. ▲ Rising
Number of people who are undernourished in Zambia, 2001–2023
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 Zambia is 7.70 million millions, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 23 years on record.
That represents a change of up 5.5% on the previous year and up 28.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of people who are undernourished in Zambia peaked at 7.70 million millions in 2023 and was at its lowest, 5.20 million millions, in 2001.
Zambia ranks 19th of 131 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5.68 million millions | 5.20 million millions | 6.10 million millions | 9 |
| 2010s | 5.89 million millions | 5.50 million millions | 6.20 million millions | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.12 million millions | 6.50 million millions | 7.70 million millions | 4 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More reference data data for Zambia
- Spring temperature anomalies -0.0386 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies -0.018 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 0.3261 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 0.5273 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies -0.2981 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 483.32 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 1 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of people who are undernourished in Zambia?
- Number of people who are undernourished in Zambia was 7.70 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 Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 7.70 million millions in 2023.
- What is the lowest number of people who are undernourished recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.20 million millions in 2001.
- How does Zambia rank for number of people who are undernourished?
- Zambia ranks 19th out of 131 countries with data for 2023.
- Is number of people who are undernourished rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 28.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zambia 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.
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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.