Share of the population defined as severely food insecure vs. undernourished in Ghana

Ghana: Share of the population defined as severely food insecure vs. undernourished was 9.4 percent in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
9.4 percent
Change on year
up 14.6%
World rank
40th
of 125 countries
All-time high
9.4 percent
in 2023
All-time low
5.1 percent
in 2015
Years of data
9
2015–2023

Share of the population defined as severely food insecure vs. undernourished in Ghana, 2015–2023

02468102015201920232015: 5.1 percent2016: 6 percent2017: 6.9 percent2018: 6.2 percent2019: 6 percent2020: 5.6 percent2021: 7 percent2022: 8.2 percent2023: 9.4 percent

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

Analysis

Ghana recorded 9.4 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.

That represents a change of up 14.6% on the previous year and up 84.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of the population defined as severely food insecure vs. undernourished in Ghana peaked at 9.4 percent in 2023 and was at its lowest, 5.1 percent, in 2015.

That places Ghana 40th out of 125 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 6.04 percent 5.1 percent 6.9 percent 5
2020s 7.55 percent 5.6 percent 9.4 percent 4

Countries ranked near Ghana

  1. 38 Togo 9.9 percent compare
  2. 39 Tunisia 9.6 percent compare
  3. 41 Guinea-Bissau 9 percent compare
  4. 42 South Africa 8.5 percent compare
  5. 43 Albania 8.4 percent compare
  6. 43 Cote d'Ivoire 8.4 percent compare

See the full ranking of 125 places →

More reference data data for Ghana

All data for Ghana →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of the population defined as severely food insecure vs. undernourished in Ghana?
Share of the population defined as severely food insecure vs. undernourished in Ghana was 9.4 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 Ghana?
The highest recorded value was 9.4 percent in 2023.
What is the lowest share of the population defined as severely food insecure vs. undernourished recorded in Ghana?
The lowest recorded value was 5.1 percent in 2015.
How does Ghana rank for share of the population defined as severely food insecure vs. undernourished?
Ghana ranks 40th out of 125 countries with data for 2023.
Is share of the population defined as severely food insecure vs. undernourished rising or falling in Ghana?
Over the last ten years it is up 84.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Ghana 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.

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About this data

Indicator
Share of the population defined as severely food insecure vs. 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
125 places, 1,042 data points, 2015–2023
Last refreshed

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.