Global Food Security Index


The Global Food Security Index consists of a set of indices from 113 countries. It measures food security across most of the countries of the world. It was first published in 2012, and is managed and updated annually by The Economist's intelligence unit.

Global food production

Food security differs around the world, with some regions being much more prone to food insecurity due to both lack of fertile land, as well as capital that could procure sufficient food through the purchasing of imports. This demand for food is steadily growing, especially in developing countries, with studies showing it is likely to grow between 70% and 100% over the four decades from 2009. Much research is underway to increase the productivity of crops, and therefore cultivate a greater volume of food. But, unless that research extends to countries characterized by poor, high-density populations, Global Food Security Index scores are likely to decrease in the coming years. Some journals, such as Science, suggest that it is imported that play the biggest role in producing these index scores, as in developing countries, a much greater percentage of the working force is dedicated to agriculture, yet they remain the countries with the lowest Global Food Security Index Scores. This is further illustrated by the fact that the United States and Singapore consistently have the two highest Global Food Security Index scores, even though the portion of their respective economies dealing with agriculture is comparatively negligible.

Criteria

The following parameters are considered for ranking countries in relation to food security:
  1. Nutritional standards
  2. Urban absorption capacity
  3. Food consumption as a share of household expenditure
  4. Food loss
  5. Protein quality
  6. Agricultural import tariffs
  7. Diet diversification
  8. Agricultural infrastructure
  9. Volatility of agricultural production
  10. Proportion of population under the global poverty line
  11. Gross domestic product per capita
  12. Presence of food safety net programs
  13. Access to financing for farmers
  14. Public expenditure on agricultural R&D
  15. Corruption
  16. Political stability risk
  17. Sufficiency of supply
  18. Food safety

    2022

Source:
RankCountryOverall scoreAffordabilityAvailabilityQuality and SafetySustainability and Adaptation
1st Finland

2019