Three billion people cannot afford healthful food.

• A healthy diet is more than just calories; it requires a wide range of nutrient-dense foods for essential vitamins and minerals.

• Healthy diets are expensive, more than four times the cost of a basic, calorie-sufficient one, in every country.

• Three billion people cannot afford a healthy diet, even if they spend most of their income on food.

• The most basic requirement for a nutritious diet is getting enough calories, which is often obtained from starchy foods and cereals.

• A person can eat an energy sufficient diet on less than $1 a day, as per the Food and Agricultural Organization’s ‘The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World’ report.

• 1.1 billion people could not afford the most basic energy sufficient diet in 2021, which is 14% of the global population.

• Subsistence farmers, who are included in the number, are the most affected in terms of nutrition.

• A diverse and nutritious diet is needed, not just enough calories.

• Most countries develop ‘food-based dietary guidelines’ that provide recommendations on what a ‘healthy diet’ would look like.

• The average cost of a diverse, healthy diet is much more expensive than a calorie-sufficient one, with the average cost across the world being $3.67 per day.

• In many countries, a healthy diet is out-of-reach for more than 80% of the population.

• The cost of a healthy diet is higher than the median income in the poorest countries, making it unaffordable even if the average person spends all their money on food.

• In rich countries, median incomes are much higher than dietary costs, allowing the median income earner to afford a healthy diet with a relatively small fraction of their income.