Share of people who are undernourished in Botswana
Botswana: Share of people who are undernourished was 24 percent in 2023. ▼ Falling
Share 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 percent.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of people who are undernourished in Botswana is 24 percent, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of up 6.7% on the previous year and up 15.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of people who are undernourished in Botswana peaked at 29 percent in 2003 and was at its lowest, 20.1 percent, in 2014.
That places Botswana 18th out of 169 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 23 years of available data.
Share of people who are undernourished in Botswana, year by year
| Year | percent | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 28.1 percent | — |
| 2002 | 28.5 percent | +1.4% |
| 2003 | 29 percent | +1.8% |
| 2004 | 28.1 percent | -3.1% |
| 2005 | 26.9 percent | -4.3% |
| 2006 | 26.6 percent | -1.1% |
| 2007 | 26.3 percent | -1.1% |
| 2008 | 26 percent | -1.1% |
| 2009 | 24.8 percent | -4.6% |
| 2010 | 23.3 percent | -6.0% |
| 2011 | 22 percent | -5.6% |
| 2012 | 21.3 percent | -3.2% |
| 2013 | 20.8 percent | -2.3% |
| 2014 | 20.1 percent | -3.4% |
| 2015 | 20.3 percent | +1.0% |
| 2016 | 20.9 percent | +3.0% |
| 2017 | 22.1 percent | +5.7% |
| 2018 | 22.1 percent | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 22.8 percent | +3.2% |
| 2020 | 22.8 percent | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 22.9 percent | +0.4% |
| 2022 | 22.5 percent | -1.7% |
| 2023 | 24 percent | +6.7% |
Botswana compared with similar countries
- Botswana's 24 percent is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 4.45 percent, 5.4× the median. (50 countries reporting)
- Botswana's 24 percent is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 19.7 percent, 1.2× the median. (43 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 27.14 percent | 24.8 percent | 29 percent | 9 |
| 2010s | 21.57 percent | 20.1 percent | 23.3 percent | 10 |
| 2020s | 23.05 percent | 22.5 percent | 24 percent | 4 |
Countries ranked near Botswana
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 share of people who are undernourished in Botswana?
- Share of people who are undernourished in Botswana was 24 percent 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 share of people who are undernourished recorded in Botswana?
- The highest recorded value was 29 percent in 2003.
- What is the lowest share of people who are undernourished recorded in Botswana?
- The lowest recorded value was 20.1 percent in 2014.
- How does Botswana rank for share of people who are undernourished?
- Botswana ranks 18th out of 169 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of people who are undernourished rising or falling in Botswana?
- Over the last ten years it is up 15.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- 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 Share 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
Share of the population whose daily food intake does not provide enough energy to maintain a normal, active, and healthy life.