Share of the population defined as severely food insecure vs. undernourished in Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso: Share of the population defined as severely food insecure vs. undernourished was 7.3 percent in 2023. ▲ Rising
Share of the population defined as severely food insecure vs. undernourished in Burkina Faso, 2017–2023
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 the population defined as severely food insecure vs. undernourished in Burkina Faso is 7.3 percent, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 7 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.4% on the previous year and up 23.7% over ten years.
That places Burkina Faso 46th out of 125 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
Share of the population defined as severely food insecure vs. undernourished in Burkina Faso, year by year
| Year | percent | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 5.9 percent | — |
| 2018 | 6 percent | +1.7% |
| 2019 | 6.3 percent | +5.0% |
| 2020 | 6.8 percent | +7.9% |
| 2021 | 7.1 percent | +4.4% |
| 2022 | 7.2 percent | +1.4% |
| 2023 | 7.3 percent | +1.4% |
Burkina Faso compared with similar countries
- Burkina Faso's 7.3 percent is below the median for low income countries, which is 21.7 percent, 34% of the median. (15 countries reporting)
- Burkina Faso's 7.3 percent is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 18.4 percent, 40% of the median. (32 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 6.07 percent | 5.9 percent | 6.3 percent | 3 |
| 2020s | 7.1 percent | 6.8 percent | 7.3 percent | 4 |
Countries ranked near Burkina Faso
More reference data data for Burkina Faso
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.9232 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 7.39 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 9.33 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.4137 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 9.33 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 3.1 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 3.61 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 33.78 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 45.27 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.25 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population defined as severely food insecure vs. undernourished in Burkina Faso?
- Share of the population defined as severely food insecure vs. undernourished in Burkina Faso was 7.3 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 the population defined as severely food insecure vs. undernourished recorded in Burkina Faso?
- The highest recorded value was 7.3 percent in 2023.
- What is the lowest share of the population defined as severely food insecure vs. undernourished recorded in Burkina Faso?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.9 percent in 2017.
- How does Burkina Faso rank for share of the population defined as severely food insecure vs. undernourished?
- Burkina Faso ranks 46th out of 125 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of the population defined as severely food insecure vs. undernourished rising or falling in Burkina Faso?
- Over the last ten years it is up 23.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Burkina Faso 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 the population defined as severely food insecure vs. undernourished. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 7 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Both metrics indicate that someone does not get enough food (in terms of calories) to eat: these metrics should be strongly correlated. Severe food insecurity is measured based on food security questionnaires among households. Undernourishment is based on estimates of actual calorie intake across the population.