Share of dietary energy supply from carbohydrates vs. GDP per capita in South Africa

South Africa: Share of dietary energy supply from carbohydrates vs. GDP per capita was 56.3% in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
56.3%
Change on year
up 1.5%
World rank
113th
of 192 countries
All-time high
69.8%
in 1964
All-time low
55.5%
in 2022
Years of data
63
1961–2023

Share of dietary energy supply from carbohydrates vs. GDP per capita in South Africa, 1961–2023

0204060196119922023

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

South Africa recorded 56.3% for share of dietary energy supply from carbohydrates vs. gdp per capita in 2023.

That represents a change of up 1.5% on the previous year and down 8.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of dietary energy supply from carbohydrates vs. gdp per capita in South Africa peaked at 69.8% in 1964 and was at its lowest, 55.5%, in 2022.

That places South Africa 113th out of 192 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.

Share of dietary energy supply from carbohydrates vs. GDP per capita in South Africa, year by year

Annual values for Share of dietary energy supply from carbohydrates vs. GDP per capita in South Africa, 1961 to 2023.
Year % Change
1961 69.0%
1962 69.0% -0.1%
1963 69.6% +0.9%
1964 69.8% +0.4%
1965 69.0% -1.2%
1966 68.7% -0.5%
1967 67.9% -1.2%
1968 68.0% +0.2%
1969 68.2% +0.3%
1970 68.8% +0.8%
1971 68.8% +0.0%
1972 69.0% +0.2%
1973 68.1% -1.2%
1974 69.0% +1.2%
1975 69.4% +0.7%
1976 69.4% -0.1%
1977 69.5% +0.1%
1978 69.6% +0.2%
1979 69.3% -0.5%
1980 69.5% +0.3%
1981 69.3% -0.3%
1982 69.6% +0.5%
1983 68.6% -1.5%
1984 68.7% +0.2%
1985 68.7% -0.1%
1986 68.5% -0.3%
1987 68.1% -0.5%
1988 68.9% +1.0%
1989 69.2% +0.4%
1990 68.3% -1.2%
1991 68.3% -0.1%
1992 68.2% -0.2%
1993 68.7% +0.7%
1994 67.5% -1.7%
1995 67.1% -0.7%
1996 67.6% +0.9%
1997 66.8% -1.3%
1998 67.1% +0.4%
1999 67.5% +0.7%
2000 67.2% -0.5%
2001 66.3% -1.4%
2002 65.6% -1.0%
2003 65.4% -0.3%
2004 65.4% +0.1%
2005 64.8% -0.9%
2006 64.4% -0.7%
2007 64.4% +0.1%
2008 63.2% -1.8%
2009 62.4% -1.4%
2010 61.7% -1.1%
2011 62.0% +0.5%
2012 61.3% -1.1%
2013 61.3% -0.1%
2014 62.1% +1.2%
2015 61.8% -0.5%
2016 61.2% -0.8%
2017 61.3% +0.2%
2018 61.5% +0.2%
2019 59.9% -2.5%
2020 56.8% -5.2%
2021 56.8% -0.0%
2022 55.5% -2.2%
2023 56.3% +1.5%

South Africa compared with similar countries

  • South Africa's 56.3% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 59.1%, 95% of the median. (57 countries reporting)
  • South Africa's 56.3% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 69.2%, 81% of the median. (45 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 68.8% 67.9% 69.8% 9
1970s 69.1% 68.1% 69.6% 10
1980s 68.9% 68.1% 69.6% 10
1990s 67.7% 66.8% 68.7% 10
2000s 64.9% 62.4% 67.2% 10
2010s 61.4% 59.9% 62.1% 10
2020s 56.3% 55.5% 56.8% 4

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 110 Kuwait 56.6% compare
  2. 111 Barbados 56.5% compare
  3. 112 Zimbabwe 56.4% compare
  4. 114 Costa Rica 56.3% compare
  5. 115 Malaysia 56.2% compare
  6. 116 Slovenia 56.2% compare

See the full ranking of 192 places →

More energy & mining data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of dietary energy supply from carbohydrates vs. gdp per capita in South Africa?
Share of dietary energy supply from carbohydrates vs. gdp per capita in South Africa was 56.3% in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of dietary energy supply from carbohydrates vs. gdp per capita recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 69.8% in 1964.
What is the lowest share of dietary energy supply from carbohydrates vs. gdp per capita recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 55.5% in 2022.
How does South Africa rank for share of dietary energy supply from carbohydrates vs. gdp per capita?
South Africa ranks 113th out of 192 countries with data for 2023.
Is share of dietary energy supply from carbohydrates vs. gdp per capita rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is down 8.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this South Africa data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of dietary energy supply from carbohydrates vs. GDP per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Share of dietary energy supply from carbohydrates vs. GDP per capita in South Africa. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 14 September 2026, from https://energy.statizoid.com/stat/share-of-dietary-energy-supply-from-carbohydrates-vs-gdp-per-capita/south-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Share of dietary energy supply from carbohydrates vs. GDP per capita
Unit
%
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
192 places, 10,214 data points, 1961–2023
Last refreshed

The share of per capita dietary energy derived from carbohydrates, measured as the daily caloric supply from carbohydrates as a percentage of total caloric supply, versus gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, adjusted for inflation and differences in living costs between countries.