Share of household spending devoted to food and calorie availability vary by country

Countries vary in how much their citizens spend on food at home as a share of consumption expenditure. Consumption expenditure includes all household spending, but not savings. High-income countries, such as the United States and the United Kingdom, have higher food spending in absolute terms, but their food spending share is low. These two countries spent less than 10 percent of their consumption expenditure on food purchased from supermarkets and other food stores in 2015, while the share approached 50 percent in low-income countries such as Kenya. Per capita calorie availability follows the reverse pattern. According to the most recent available data, U.S. per capita calorie availability was among the highest at 3,639 calories per day, while Kenya’s was estimated at only 2,206 calories. This chart appears in Ag and Food Statistics: Charting the Essentials on the ERS website.

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