Share of people who are undernourished in India

India: Share of people who are undernourished was 12 percent in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
12 percent
Change on year
down 11.1%
World rank
49th
of 169 countries
All-time high
21.7 percent
in 2004
All-time low
10.5 percent
in 2018
Years of data
23
2001–2023

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

051015202001201220232001: 18.1 percent2002: 19.7 percent2003: 21.2 percent2004: 21.7 percent2005: 21.1 percent2006: 18.9 percent2007: 16.6 percent2008: 15.3 percent2009: 15 percent2010: 14.6 percent2011: 14.2 percent2012: 13.4 percent2013: 12.8 percent2014: 12.6 percent2015: 12.1 percent2016: 11.6 percent2017: 10.6 percent2018: 10.5 percent2019: 11.8 percent2020: 13.4 percent2021: 14.3 percent2022: 13.5 percent2023: 12 percent

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

Analysis

India recorded 12 percent for share of people who are undernourished in 2023.

The figure is down 11.1% on the previous year and down 6.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of people who are undernourished in India peaked at 21.7 percent in 2004 and was at its lowest, 10.5 percent, in 2018.

That places India 49th out of 169 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 18.62 percent 15 percent 21.7 percent 9
2010s 12.42 percent 10.5 percent 14.6 percent 10
2020s 13.3 percent 12 percent 14.3 percent 4

Countries ranked near India

  1. 47 Mali 12.3 percent compare
  2. 48 Ecuador 12.1 percent compare
  3. 50 Guatemala 11.8 percent compare
  4. 51 Guinea 11.4 percent compare
  5. 52 Macao 11.2 percent compare
  6. 52 Trinidad and Tobago 11.2 percent compare

See the full ranking of 169 places →

More reference data data for India

All data for India →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of people who are undernourished in India?
Share of people who are undernourished in India was 12 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 India?
The highest recorded value was 21.7 percent in 2004.
What is the lowest share of people who are undernourished recorded in India?
The lowest recorded value was 10.5 percent in 2018.
How does India rank for share of people who are undernourished?
India ranks 49th out of 169 countries with data for 2023.
Is share of people who are undernourished rising or falling in India?
Over the last ten years it is down 6.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this India 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.