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

Guatemala: Share of the population defined as severely food insecure vs. undernourished was 21.3 percent in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
21.3 percent
Change on year
up 2.4%
World rank
19th
of 125 countries
All-time high
21.3 percent
in 2023
All-time low
16.1 percent
in 2015
Years of data
9
2015–2023

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

051015202015201920232015: 16.1 percent2016: 17 percent2017: 17.1 percent2018: 18.1 percent2019: 19.2 percent2020: 20.7 percent2021: 20.3 percent2022: 20.8 percent2023: 21.3 percent

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

Analysis

Guatemala recorded 21.3 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 2.4% on the previous year and up 32.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of the population defined as severely food insecure vs. undernourished in Guatemala peaked at 21.3 percent in 2023 and was at its lowest, 16.1 percent, in 2015.

Guatemala ranks 19th of 125 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 17.5 percent 16.1 percent 19.2 percent 5
2020s 20.77 percent 20.3 percent 21.3 percent 4

Countries ranked near Guatemala

  1. 16 Tanzania 24.4 percent compare
  2. 17 Nigeria 24.3 percent compare
  3. 18 Gambia 21.7 percent compare
  4. 20 Ethiopia 19 percent compare
  5. 21 Dominican Republic 17.9 percent compare
  6. 22 Madagascar 17.8 percent compare

See the full ranking of 125 places →

More reference data data for Guatemala

All data for Guatemala →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of the population defined as severely food insecure vs. undernourished in Guatemala?
Share of the population defined as severely food insecure vs. undernourished in Guatemala was 21.3 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 Guatemala?
The highest recorded value was 21.3 percent in 2023.
What is the lowest share of the population defined as severely food insecure vs. undernourished recorded in Guatemala?
The lowest recorded value was 16.1 percent in 2015.
How does Guatemala rank for share of the population defined as severely food insecure vs. undernourished?
Guatemala ranks 19th out of 125 countries with data for 2023.
Is share of the population defined as severely food insecure vs. undernourished rising or falling in Guatemala?
Over the last ten years it is up 32.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Guatemala 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

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.