Low-income food-deficit countries

What does this indicator tell us?

This indicator identifies countries with low income and food inadequacy.

How is this indicator defined?

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) classifies countries as “low-income food-deficit” for analytical purposes on the basis of low income and food inadequacy, and when the country itself agrees with the status. The classification applies to countries that have a per capita income below the ceiling used by the World Bank to determine eligibility for International Development Association assistance and for 20-year terms from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, applied to countries included in World Bank categories I and II. The second criterion is based on the net (i.e. gross imports minus gross exports) food trade position of a country, averaged over the preceding 3 years. Trade volumes of a broad range of basic foodstuffs (e.g. cereals, roots and tubers, pulses, oilseeds and oils other than tree crop oils, meat and dairy products) are converted and aggregated by the calorie content of the individual commodities. The third criterion, which is self-exclusion, is applied when countries that meet the above two criteria specifically request to be excluded from the low-income food-deficit category. To avoid too-frequent changes of low-income food-deficit status, usually reflecting short-term exogenous shocks, an additional factor is taken into consideration. This factor, called “persistence of position”, postpones the “exit” of a country from the list, even if it does not meet the low-income or food-deficit criteria, until the change in its status is verified for 3 consecutive years. In other words, the country is considered to be in a transitional phase during these 3 years. A country is taken off the list in the 4th year, after confirming a sustained improvement in its position.

What are the consequences and implications?

The rationale behind the low-income food-deficit classification is that, being simultaneously in food deficit and having a low income, a country lacks the resources not only to import food but also to produce sufficient amounts domestically. This combination of factors makes a country both food insecure and susceptible to both domestic and external shocks, which could affect the nutritional status of vulnerable populations. The low-income food-deficit list, therefore, is intended to capture this aspect of the food problem.

In comparison with countries in other classifications commonly used for analytical and operational purposes (e.g. “least developed countries”, the World Bank’s “low-income countries” and “heavily indebted poor countries”), low-income food-deficit countries have demonstrated better nutrition- and health-related outcomes.

Source of data

FAO. Low-income food-deficit countries (LIFDC) (http://www.fao.org/countryprofiles/lifdc.asp?lang=en).

Further reading

Committee on World Food Security. Twenty-eighth session. Rome, 6–8 June 2002. The LIFDC classification – an exploration. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; 2002 (http://www.fao.org/docrep/MEETING/004/Y6691E/Y6691e00.HTM).