2026-07-03 · tonnes of food lost or wasted per year
Rich countries waste more food at retail and home
Loss happens on farms everywhere — waste at the fork is income-skewed.
Every year the world loses or wastes 1.3 billion tonnes of food — a substantial slice of the global food supply, grown, watered, and shipped, then never eaten. Where it disappears depends on income: farms everywhere shed part of the harvest, but waste at retail and home is income-skewed. High-income countries account for 39% of food waste; middle- and low-income countries, the other 61%.
1 cell = 1.3 million tonnes of food lost or wasted per year (0.1% of global food supply) · 1,000 cells
Context
Food loss and food waste are distinct problems. Loss strikes farms and early supply chains in every region — through pests, weather, and gaps in storage and transport — while waste piles up at retail and in homes, and that is where income makes the difference.
High-income countries generate 39% of food waste — a heavy share for a group with a minority of the world's population. Middle- and low-income countries account for the other 61%, spread across far more people, which works out to much less waste per person.
The grid tells two stories at once: farm-level loss that every region shares, and waste at the fork that tilts toward the world's richest economies. Figures are UNEP Food Waste Index regional shares.
UNEP Food Waste Index regional shares.
Share and export
Credit this grid as Inagrid — https://inagrid.com/e/2026-07-03-food-waste-rich