Percent of household consumption spent on food and beverages (all households)

Calculation

Expenditure on food divided by total expenditure, multiplied by 100.

Definition

Proportion of household expenditure that is spent on food and beverages. Household expenditure is a proxy for household income. The monetary value of food procured through own-production, in-kind payments, or transfers is also included in food expenditure. Data are obtained from nationally representative household expenditure or consumption surveys.

Relevance

Low-income countries tend to spend a larger percentage of their income on food. As income increases, food expenditure increases as well, but not as fast, as households devote more of their budget to non-food items. Low-income households spending a large portion of their income on food are more vulnerable to income or price shocks, which may lead to reductions in the quality or quantity of food consumed.