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Food Prices for Nutrition DataHub: global statistics on the Cost and Affordability of Healthy Diets

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The Food Prices for Nutrition DataHub provides access to global statistics on the cost and affordability of healthy diets and related indicators. These use food item availability and prices from the International Comparison Program (ICP), combined with food composition data and nutritional requirements from a wide range of sources including based on national dietary guidelines.

The 33 indicators and their metadata cover:

Diet cost

  • Cost of a healthy diet, per person per day
  • Cost of an energy sufficient diet and a nutrient adequate diet, per person per day
  • Cost per person per day, cost share, and cost relative to starchy staples of different food groups (fruits; vegetables; starchy staples; animal-sourced foods; legumes, nuts and seeds; and oils and fats)

Diet affordability

  • Prevalence of unaffordability and number of people unable to afford each diet
  • Ratio of each diet cost to observed national average food expenditures
  • Ratio of each diet cost to the food component of the international poverty lines as defined by the World Bank's income group classification

For further information on definitions and methods please refer to Methodology

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DATA HIGHLIGHTS

  • Global food prices rose each year to 2022, largely driven by disruptions from COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine. The average cost of a healthy diet was $3.96 per person per day in current purchasing power parity (PPP) dollars, compared with $3.56 in 2021.
  • In low-income countries, the average cost of a healthy diet was $3.48, while in high-income countries it was $3.78. Both lower-middle-income and upper-middle-income country groups recorded the highest cost of $4.20.
  • These diet costs are much higher than the current international poverty line for low-income countries of $2.15 per person per day, and higher than the poverty line for lower-middle-income countries of $3.65. By considering the shares of household expenditure devoted to basic non-food needs for low-income consumers in each country income group based on recent household data compiled by the World Bank, we can establish a food poverty line for each. They are $1.35 (63% of $2.15) in low-income countries, $2.04 (56% of $3.65) in lower-middle-income countries, and $3.15 (46% of $6.85) in upper-middle-income countries. The cost of a healthy diet in each group far exceeds these values.
  • Comparing these costs with income distribution data provides a measure of the affordability of the diet. Around 35% - or 2.8 billion - of the global population could not afford a healthy diet in 2022. Of those, 1.68 billion lived in lower-middle-income countries. The prevalence of unaffordability was highest in low-income countries where 71.5% of the population could not afford a healthy diet.
  • Despite rising food prices, the prevalence of unaffordability fell across all income groups and most regions between the pre-pandemic year of 2019 and 2022. This is attributed to economic recovery despite rising food prices in recent years. The exception was Middle East & North Africa, where the share of people unable to afford a healthy diet rose slightly from 26.7% to 26.9%, and Sub-Saharan Africa where the share rose from 69.3% to 70.3%.
  • The global number of people unable to afford a healthy diet fell to pre-pandemic levels in 2022, fueled by general economic recovery. However, this was uneven across regions with numbers slightly higher than in 2019 in Latin America and the Caribbean and in the Middle East and North Africa, and significantly higher in Sub-Saharan Africa, reaching 851.6 million in 2022, where a rising population impacted the numbers.  In 2022, the number of people unable to afford a healthy diet dropped below pre-pandemic levels in the upper-middle- and high-income countries while lower-middle- and low-income countries recorded the highest levels since 2017.
  • The cost of each of the six food groups making up the cost of a healthy diet in 2021 is also provided. The most expensive food group is animal-sourced foods, priced on average at $0.99 for the daily quantity needed in a healthy diet. For this food group, the highest cost is in low-income countries at $1.26 and in Sub-Saharan Africa at $1.18. Vegetables are the second most expensive at $0.75 globally, with Latin America & Caribbean having the highest cost of $0.98. Fruits cost $0.66 on average, and East Asia and Pacific has the highest cost of $0.94.?
  • The cost of each food group relative to the cost of starchy staples ¨C often an easily accessible food providing calories ¨C is also provided. The cost of vegetables relative to starchy staples was highest in high-income countries at over two times the cost, while animal-source foods were over two times the cost of starchy staples in low-income countries in 2022.

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Cost of a healthy diet and the population unable to afford the diet in countries

The cost per person per day of a healthy diet in each country with data for the years 2017 to 2022 is plotted against the prevalence of unaffordability or the share of population who cannot afford the diet. Data on the number of people affected are also provided.

Cost of food groups relative to starchy staples in a least-cost healthy diet

The cost per person per day of the different food groups relative to that of starchy staples within a healthy diet for each country is provided in the map below.

Affordability of diets in countries

The affordability of a least-cost healthy diet in each country with data in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 is provided in the map below. Affordability is expressed as the diet cost as a percentage of the food component of the international poverty line, or the food poverty lines, by country¡¯s income classification, which is $1.35 (63% of $2.15) in low-income countries, $2.04 (56% of $3.65) in lower-middle-income countries, $3.15 (46% of $6.85) in upper-middle-income countries, and $11.20 (46% of $24.36) in 2017 prices.

Data access

  • Cylinder, column chart, and arrow

    Download Food Prices for Nutrition data from the World Bank¡¯s DataBank
  • FPN-Data-Catalog-780-439-v2.png

    Access Food Prices for Nutrition API, metadata, and documentation from the World Bank¡¯s public Data Catalog

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Featured

  • Woman's arm with text
    Publication

    The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2024 was published on July 24, 2024, and featured updated cost and affordability of a healthy diet data.
  • Chart showing four catgories of income group with share of population unable to afford a healthy diet
    Blog

    July 2024 blog reports on the main findings of the latest cost and affordability of a healthy diet data covering 2017 to 2022
  • No-logos-Social-Media-affordability-Income-groups-780x439.png
    Blog

    This July 2023 blog presents updated estimates of the Cost and Affordability of a Healthy Diet (CoAHD) indicators.
  • Image
    Event

    International Conference on Agricultural Statistics: May 18, 2023

    A session on tracking access to healthy diets was held by the Food Princes and Nutrition (FPN) project, highlighting the FPN methodology, food prices and consumption data, and their uses at various country levels.
  • Image
    Blog

    This blog presents updated diet affordability data from the Food Prices for Nutrition project.
  • FPN-event-july-14-780-43
    Event

    This event brings together a panel of experts from countries, international agencies, and academia to discuss new food security indicators on diet costs and affordability and their use in guiding agricultural and food policy.
  • IFPRI-Seminar-780-439
    Event

    This International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) Policy Seminar features the Food Prices for Nutrition team and participants from around the world to discuss how policy analysts and researchers can use the new methods and data in their own work.

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