India - Prevalence of undernourishment (% of population)

Prevalence of undernourishment (% of population) in India was 15.30 as of 2019. Its highest value over the past 18 years was 22.10 in 2004, while its lowest value was 13.80 in 2017.

Definition: Population below minimum level of dietary energy consumption (also referred to as prevalence of undernourishment) shows the percentage of the population whose food intake is insufficient to meet dietary energy requirements continuously. Data showing as 5 may signify a prevalence of undernourishment below 5%.

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization (http://www.fao.org/publications/en/).

See also:

Year Value
2001 18.40
2002 20.10
2003 21.50
2004 22.10
2005 21.60
2006 19.60
2007 17.50
2008 16.60
2009 16.30
2010 16.00
2011 15.60
2012 15.00
2013 15.10
2014 14.90
2015 14.70
2016 14.20
2017 13.80
2018 14.00
2019 15.30

Development Relevance: Good nutrition is the cornerstone for survival, health and development. Well-nourished children perform better in school, grow into healthy adults and in turn give their children a better start in life. Well-nourished women face fewer risks during pregnancy and childbirth, and their children set off on firmer developmental paths, both physically and mentally (UNICEF www.childinfo.org).

Limitations and Exceptions: From a policy and program standpoint, this measure has its limits. First, food insecurity exists even where food availability is not a problem because of inadequate access of poor households to food. Second, food insecurity is an individual or household phenomenon, and the average food available to each person, even corrected for possible effects of low income, is not a good predictor of food insecurity among the population. And third, nutrition security is determined not only by food security but also by the quality of care of mothers and children and the quality of the household's health environment (Smith and Haddad 2000).

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Data on undernourishment are from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and measure food deprivation based on average food available for human consumption per person, the level of inequality in access to food, and the minimum calories required for an average person.

Aggregation method: Weighted average

Periodicity: Annual

Classification

Topic: Health Indicators

Sub-Topic: Nutrition