Share of the population defined as severely food insecure vs. undernourished in Egypt
Egypt: Share of the population defined as severely food insecure vs. undernourished was 12 percent in 2023. ▲ Rising
Share of the population defined as severely food insecure vs. undernourished in Egypt, 2015–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in percent.
Analysis
Egypt recorded 12 percent for share of the population defined as severely food insecure vs. undernourished in 2023. That is the highest value across all 9 years on record.
The figure is up 15.4% on the previous year and up 42.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population defined as severely food insecure vs. undernourished in Egypt peaked at 12 percent in 2023 and was at its lowest, 6.7 percent, in 2019.
That places Egypt 34th 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 Egypt, year by year
| Year | percent | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 8.4 percent | — |
| 2016 | 8.7 percent | +3.6% |
| 2017 | 8.6 percent | -1.1% |
| 2018 | 7.4 percent | -14.0% |
| 2019 | 6.7 percent | -9.5% |
| 2020 | 7.1 percent | +6.0% |
| 2021 | 8.8 percent | +23.9% |
| 2022 | 10.4 percent | +18.2% |
| 2023 | 12 percent | +15.4% |
Egypt compared with similar countries
- Egypt's 12 percent is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 10.1 percent, 1.2× the median. (29 countries reporting)
- Egypt's 12 percent is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 7.95 percent, 1.5× the median. (12 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 7.96 percent | 6.7 percent | 8.7 percent | 5 |
| 2020s | 9.57 percent | 7.1 percent | 12 percent | 4 |
Countries ranked near Egypt
More reference data data for Egypt
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.2851 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 5.23 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 16.05 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.2 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 16.05 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.956 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.4622 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 25.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 71.76 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 6.55 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population defined as severely food insecure vs. undernourished in Egypt?
- Share of the population defined as severely food insecure vs. undernourished in Egypt 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 the population defined as severely food insecure vs. undernourished recorded in Egypt?
- The highest recorded value was 12 percent in 2023.
- What is the lowest share of the population defined as severely food insecure vs. undernourished recorded in Egypt?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.7 percent in 2019.
- How does Egypt rank for share of the population defined as severely food insecure vs. undernourished?
- Egypt ranks 34th out of 125 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of the population defined as severely food insecure vs. undernourished rising or falling in Egypt?
- Over the last ten years it is up 42.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Egypt 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 — 9 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.