The project’s outputs – indicators of the cost and affordability of diets and food groups and data for up to 174 countries - use observed consumer prices and household expenditures to provide an operational measure of people’s access to locally available foods in the proportions needed for health. The Food Prices for Nutrition project was established to provide governments and development agencies with accurate and updated metrics to inform agricultural and food systems interventions. The cost of vegetables relative to starchy staples was highest in the Maldives at over four times the cost, while fruits were 3.7 times the cost of starchy staples in Italy for example.

The cost of each food group relative to the cost of starchy staples – often an easily accessible food providing calories – is also provided.Vegetables are the second most expensive at $0.79 while fruits cost $0.66 on average. For this food group, the highest cost recorded is in South Asia at $1.08. The most expensive of the food groups is animal-sourced foods, priced on average at $0.87 for the daily quantity needed in a healthy diet. The cost of each food group making up the cost of a healthy diet is also provided.The exceptions were the Middle East and North Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean where the shares rose over 2020 to 2021 from 33.7% to 34.0% and 20.9% to 22.7% respectively. This may be attributed to the sharp increase in global consumer food prices, relative to income change, in the second half of 2020 impacting the affordability of the diet. The share of the population unable to afford a healthy diet fell across all income groups and most regions between 20 but rose again in 2020 before decreasing again in 2021.

These headline data are available for the years 2017 to 2021.In low-income and lower-middle-income countries the proportions were 86% and 70% respectively, and in the eleven most afflicted countries - all but one in Sub-Saharan Africa - over 90% of the population could not afford a healthy diet. Around 42% - or 3.14 billion - of the global population could not afford a healthy diet in 2021. Comparing these costs with income distribution data provides a measure of the affordability of the diet.These diet costs are much higher than the current international poverty line of $2.15 per day and significantly higher than the $1.12 food poverty line, which is set at 52% of the international poverty line based on the average share of income that households in low-income countries spend on food.The highest cost was observed in upper-middle-income countries, where a healthy diet cost $3.91, while in lower-middle-income countries the average was slightly less at $3.88. In low-income countries the average cost was $3.37, while in high-income countries it was slightly higher at $3.43. In 2021 the global average daily cost of a healthy diet in current purchasing power parities was $3.66.Ratio of each diet cost to the food component of the international poverty lineįor further information on definitions and methods please refer to Methodology.Ratio of each diet cost to observed national average food expenditures.Share of the population and number of people who cannot afford each diet cost.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).Cost of an energy sufficient diet and a nutrient adequate diet, per person per day.Cost of a healthy diet, per person per day.The 33 indicators and their metadata cover: Diet cost These data 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 national dietary guidelines. The Food Prices for Nutrition DataHub provides access to global statistics on the cost and affordability of healthy diets and related indicators.

Food expenses meaning