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10 African countries that waste the most food in 2024

Food waste is defined as food and the associated inedible parts removed from the human food supply chain. In 2022, the world wasted 1.05 billion tonnes of food. This amounts to one-fifth (19 per cent) of food available to consumers being wasted at the retail, food service, and household level.

The Food Waste Index Report, which tracks country-level progress toward halving food waste by 2030 (SDG 12.3), revealed that most of the world’s food waste comes from households. Out of the total food waste in 2022, households were responsible for 631 million tonnes, equivalent to 60 per cent, the food service sector for 290, and the retail sector for 131.

The report noted that Nigerians waste 113kg of food at home per year, amounting to 24.79 million tons of household food waste in the country—the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa. Among the other countries in the region, Tanzania households waste 152kg of food per person annually, Uganda 110kg, Seychelles 183kg, Rwanda 141kg, and Mozambique 92kg.

According to UN projections, food waste is a worldwide catastrophe, and due to global food waste, over 783 million people will go hungry at present. The report advises governments to improve data collection and proposes best practices for transitioning from monitoring to decreasing food waste.

Country Household Estimate (kg/capita/year) Household Estimate (tonnes/year) Confidence in Estimate

Tanzania

152

9,960,496

Medium confidence

Uganda

110

5,209,076

Medium confidence

Seychelles

183

20,089

Medium confidence

Rwanda

141

1,937,761

Medium confidence

Nigeria

113

24,791,826

Medium confidence

Mozambique

92

3,033,197

Low confidence

Madagascar

92

2,724,081

Low confidence

Niger

92

2,411,286

Low confidence

Burkina Faso

92

2,085,610

Low confidence

Mali

92

2,078,251

Low confidence

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