Share of consumer expenditure spent on food in South Africa
South Africa: Share of consumer expenditure spent on food was 16.1% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Share of consumer expenditure spent on food in South Africa, 2017–2023
Source: USDA Economic Research Service (2022); USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) (2023); USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of consumer expenditure spent on food in South Africa is 16.1%, measured in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 7 years on record.
That represents a change of down 25.5% on the previous year and down 24.9% over ten years.
South Africa ranks 74th of 104 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
Share of consumer expenditure spent on food in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 21.4% | — |
| 2018 | 21.4% | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 21.1% | -1.8% |
| 2020 | 21.2% | +0.7% |
| 2021 | 21.3% | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 21.6% | +1.3% |
| 2023 | 16.1% | -25.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 21.3% | 21.1% | 21.4% | 3 |
| 2020s | 20.0% | 16.1% | 21.6% | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More reference data data for South Africa
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.5111 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 8.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 13.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.7468 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 13.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.49 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 41.1 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 63.65 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 4.07 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of consumer expenditure spent on food in South Africa?
- Share of consumer expenditure spent on food in South Africa was 16.1% in 2023, according to USDA Economic Research Service (2022); USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) (2023); USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of consumer expenditure spent on food recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 21.6% in 2022.
- What is the lowest share of consumer expenditure spent on food recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.1% in 2023.
- How does South Africa rank for share of consumer expenditure spent on food?
- South Africa ranks 74th out of 104 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of consumer expenditure spent on food rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 24.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from USDA Economic Research Service (2022); USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) (2023); USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of consumer expenditure spent on food. 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
Share of consumer expenditures that are spent on food. This only includes food eaten at home, and does not include alcoholic beverages and tobacco.