Share of people who are undernourished in Ethiopia

Ethiopia: Share of people who are undernourished was 19.7 percent in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
19.7 percent
Change on year
down 2.5%
World rank
28th
of 169 countries
All-time high
46.1 percent
in 2001
All-time low
13 percent
in 2016
Years of data
23
2001–2023

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

10203040502001201220232001: 46.1 percent2002: 43.2 percent2003: 41.6 percent2004: 39.1 percent2005: 36.4 percent2006: 32.7 percent2007: 29.4 percent2008: 26.3 percent2009: 23.9 percent2010: 22.4 percent2011: 21.2 percent2012: 19.8 percent2013: 17.7 percent2014: 15.2 percent2015: 13.6 percent2016: 13 percent2017: 14.1 percent2018: 16.1 percent2019: 18.5 percent2020: 20.3 percent2021: 20.6 percent2022: 20.2 percent2023: 19.7 percent

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

Analysis

In 2023, share of people who are undernourished in Ethiopia stood at 19.7 percent.

That represents a change of down 2.5% on the previous year and up 11.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of people who are undernourished in Ethiopia peaked at 46.1 percent in 2001 and was at its lowest, 13 percent, in 2016.

Ethiopia ranks 28th of 169 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 35.41 percent 23.9 percent 46.1 percent 9
2010s 17.16 percent 13 percent 22.4 percent 10
2020s 20.2 percent 19.7 percent 20.6 percent 4

Countries ranked near Ethiopia

  1. 25 Tanzania 20.2 percent compare
  2. 26 Solomon Islands 20 percent compare
  3. 27 Nigeria 19.9 percent compare
  4. 28 Zimbabwe 19.7 percent compare
  5. 30 East Timor 18.7 percent compare
  6. 31 Namibia 18.1 percent compare

See the full ranking of 169 places →

More reference data data for Ethiopia

All data for Ethiopia →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of people who are undernourished in Ethiopia?
Share of people who are undernourished in Ethiopia was 19.7 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 Ethiopia?
The highest recorded value was 46.1 percent in 2001.
What is the lowest share of people who are undernourished recorded in Ethiopia?
The lowest recorded value was 13 percent in 2016.
How does Ethiopia rank for share of people who are undernourished?
Ethiopia ranks 28th out of 169 countries with data for 2023.
Is share of people who are undernourished rising or falling in Ethiopia?
Over the last ten years it is up 11.3%. 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 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

Indicator
Share of people who are undernourished
Unit
percent
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
169 places, 3,850 data points, 2001–2023
Last refreshed

Share of the population whose daily food intake does not provide enough energy to maintain a normal, active, and healthy life.