Indicator name
Percentage of undernourished people
Prepared by
Example
FAO
See updated charts and data sheets
WWDR2, Chapter 7, Map 7.2, Figure 7.10, 7.11
Rationale
Position in DPSIR chain
Definition of indicator
Underlying definitions and
concepts
Specification of
determinants needed
Computation
Units of measurements
Data sources, availability
and quality
Scale of application
Geographical coverage
Interpretation
The proportion of undernourished people provides a measure of the extent of
the hunger problem for the region/country and thus may be considered a
measure of food insecurity
State
Percentage of people not having access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food
that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy
life. In estimating the prevalence of under-nourishment FAO takes into account
the amount of food available per person nationally and the extent of inequality
in access to food.
At the national level, a per capita food intake of less than 2,200 kcal/day is
taken as indicative of a very poor level of food security, with a large proportion
of the population affected by malnutrition. A level of more than 2,700 kcal/day
indicates that only a small proportion of people will be affected by
undernourishment. As people are enabled to access food, per capita food intake
increases rapidly but levels off around 3,500 kcal/day. It must be stressed that
per capita food intake in terms of kilocalories is only an indicator of food
security: adequate nutrition requires, in addition to calories, a balanced diversity
of food including all necessary nutrients.
Number of undernourished people (UP)
Total population (TP)
100 (UP/TP)
Percent
Available by country by year from FAO through its publication the “State of
Food Insecurity” (SOFI)
All scales; data available at country level
Global
For regional and global assessments, per capita food intake per day in
kilocalories is used as the indicator undernourishment and food security. Food
security is defined by FAO as physical, social and economic access for all
people to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and
food preferences for an active and healthy life (FAO World Food Summit Plan
of Action, para. 1). This involves four conditions: (i) adequacy of food supply
or availability, (ii) stability of supply, without fluctuations or shortages from
season to season or from year to year, (iii) accessibility to food or affordability,
(iv) quality and safety of food. Its converse, food insecurity, applies when
people live with hunger and fear of starvation. Food security requires:
 sufficient quantities of food of appropriate quality be available – a
production issue
 individuals and households have access to appropriate foods – a poverty
issue
 nourishment is taken under good conditions, including regular meals, safe
food, clean water and adequate sanitation – a public health issue
The individual state of health is also relevant for food security as diseasestricken people are hampered or unable to contribute to their own and their
household’s food security. By the same token, undernourished people are much
more prone to disease.
Linkage with other
indicators
Alternative methods and
definitions
Related indicator sets
Percentage of poor people living in rural area
Relative importance of agriculture in the economy
FAO is working on a more elaborated methodology that captures better the
qualitative aspect of food insecurity and undernourishment.
FAO AQUASTAT,
http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/quickWMS/aquastatsum7.htm (Figure
based on 2002-2004 data, accessed 12 October 2011)
Sources of further
information
Other institutions
FAO statistical yearbook 2010, Number of undernourished and proportion in
total population
http://www.fao.org/economic/ess/ess-publications/ess-yearbook/essyearbook2010/yearbook2010-welfare/en/(Accessed 12 October 2011)
Food Insecurity and Vulnerability Information and Mapping Systems
(FIVIMS): http://www.fivims.org/ (Accessed 12 October 2011)
International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD): http://www.ifad.org/
(Accessed 12 October 2011)
Undernourishment around the world in 2010 (FAO),
http://www.fao.org/docrep/013/i1683e/i1683e02.pdf (Accessed 12 October
2011)
WHO, WFP, UNICEF, ILO, UNDP, WB, IFAD