ASTANA – Kazakhstan ranked 32nd among 113 countries in the Global Food Security Index (GFSI) 2022 report that was released on Dec. 19 by the Economist Impact, a think tank of The Economist magazine. The country has risen from the 41st position that it occupied last year.
The map of food security. The brighter the blue, the better food security the country has. Pink indicates low food security. Data is unavailable for grey states. Photo credit: Economist Impact.
Kazakhstan’s overall score is 72.1 for this year, as opposed to 69.2 in 2021. This score puts Kazakhstan above such countries as Hungary (71.8), South Korea (70.2), Russia (69.1) and Türkiye (65.3). Finland (83.7), Ireland (81.7) and Norway (80.5) are in the top three.
The GFSI ranks countries based on four principles: affordability, availability, quality and safety, and sustainability and adaptation. Kazakhstan ranked 49th in affordability (78.0), 23rd in availability (67.2), 32nd in quality and safety (76.3) and 22nd in sustainability and adaptation (65.4).
According to GFSI, Kazakhstan’s undernourishment rate remains at 2.5 percent, with the percentage of children stunted by malnutrition remaining at 6.7 percent. The percentage of children that remain underweight stands at 2 percent and the prevalence of obesity is at 21.3 percent. The country’s Human Development Index is 0.83.
The report overall finds that global food security is deteriorating, making it susceptible to shocks. The positive trends of 2012-2015 have reversed due to global structural issues. High food prices, reduced freedom of trade and decreased funding for food safety nets have caused affordability to plummet.
The report also noted a growing inequality in the global food system, as the top performers are represented by high-income countries. The gap between them and the bottom has been widening since 2019, the report states.
The GFSI also finds that innovation and its funding allowed some countries to build up their resilience, which could be the solution to the deteriorating state of food security going forward.
