The State of the World's Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
2025
The FAO Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture Assessments provides global overviews based on country data of the state of the world’s forests, plant, aquatic and animal genetic resources, and biodiversity for food and agriculture.
Food balance sheets and supply utilization accounts resource handbook 2025
2025
This handbook provides an essential description of the methodology used by FAO to develop food balance sheets. It aims to familiarize Member Nations, food budgeting institutions, and other interested parties with the core processes involved in data collection and imputation strategies specifically for agricultural and livestock products.
Processing food consumption data from household consumption and expenditure surveys (HCES)
2025
The food data processing guidelines presented in this document provide some basic principles to adopt when transforming the food data collected in household consumption and expenditure surveys (HCES) to data ready for poverty or food security analysis. The document was produced under the aegis of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Food Security, Agricultural and Rural Statistics (UN-CEAG), which reports to the United Nations Statistical Commission.
Fishery and Aquaculture Statistics – Yearbook 2022
2025
The FAO Yearbook of Fishery and Aquaculture Statistics, prepared by the Statistics Team of the FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Division, offers a synthesis of the major trends in the fisheries and aquaculture sector. The Yearbook is meant to constitute a primary tool for policymakers, researchers and analysts, as well as for the general public interested in the past and current paths of the sector.
Leveraging space technology for agricultural development and food security
2025
The publication “Leveraging Space Technology for Agricultural Development and Food Security” was produced by FAO and UNOOSA in response to the ongoing dialogue within the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS). It underscores the transformative potential of space technologies in enhancing agricultural productivity and ensuring food security amid global challenges.
Government expenditures in agriculture 2001–2023. Global and regional trends
2025
Since 2012, FAO has collected government expenditure on agriculture (GEA) data through a questionnaire sent annually in May to more than 190 countries. Government expenditures reflect countries’ priorities in terms of programmes and sectors and can be used as a direct response to cushion the impacts of economic and social challenges such as a global pandemic, natural disasters or increasing inflation. This brief analyses the latest data available in FAOSTAT, for the period 2001–2023.
Comparison of WorldCereal with FAOSTAT data: an exploratory analysis. FAO Statistics Working Paper Series / 25‑46
2025
WorldCereal provides high-resolution global cropland and crop type maps. This study evaluates the accuracy and reliability of these products using in situ data from FAOSTAT. We harmonized diverse datasets to enable fair assessments and employed robust statistical metrics to quantify the performance of maps detailing temporary crops, crop types and irrigation status.
Latin America and the Caribbean - Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition
2025
The Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition in Latin America and the Caribbean presents an update of the data and trends in food security and nutrition in recent years.
Agriculture producer prices indices 2019–2023
2025
The FAO indices of agriculture producer prices measure the average annual change over time in the selling prices received by farmers (prices at the farm-gate or at the first point of sale) for primary crops, live animals’ weight and livestock primary products. This brief analyses the latest data available in FAOSTAT, for the period 2013–2023. Country agriculture producer price indices are updated in FAOSTAT on an annual basis.
Sustainable nitrogen management in agrifood systems
2025
This FAO report provides a comprehensive overview of nitrogen's role, and the challenges associated with its use in agrifood systems. It explores solutions for improving nitrogen management in crop and livestock systems to enhance nitrogen use efficiency while reducing pollution. Additionally, it highlights the potential of circular bioeconomy approaches to optimize nitrogen management and minimize nitrogen losses.
Units of measure
2025
The document provides recommendations and procedures for the use of Units of Measures in data management and dissemination processes for all FAO statistical domains (including FAOSTAT, the Statistical Data Warehouse and the Statistical Working System). It offers guidance on the units of measures and notations to be used.
Metadata dissemination for FAO statistical databases
2025
The statistical standard on metadata dissemination for FAO statistical databases provides guidance to support standardization and harmonization of web dissemination of reference metadata describing how various statistical outputs and processes were produced. It includes a set of concepts, recommendations and guidelines that can help users better understand the quality of the statistical data published by the Organization...
The food systems countdown report 2024. Tracking progress and managing interactions
2025
The Food Systems Countdown Initiative aims to monitor the state of food systems transformation through relevant data, independent of any established monitoring processes. This brief presents the Countdown indicators depicting the current state of national food systems. In doing so, it provides a starting point for future work to identify where things can be done better, provide ideas for how to get there, and inspire stakeholders (in particular, policymakers) that progress can and must be made.
Credit to agriculture. Global and regional trends 2014–2023
2024
Affordable credit is critical in agriculture due to the natural gap between expenditure and revenue. FAOSTAT provides total credit data series from 1991 to 2023 for over 212 countries and credit to agriculture data series for over 130 countries.
Pesticides use and trade: methodological changes and exploration of alternative data sources. FAO Statistics Working Paper Series / 24-45
2024
Geographically and temporally comparable statistics on pesticides use and trade are important for policymakers and researchers to address potential environmental and human health risks and to reduce vulnerability to crop losses from disease and infestation. The methodological work in this paper ensures consistent dissemination of pesticides use data in active ingredients by reconciling time series reported in formulated products.
Trade of agricultural commodities 2010–2023
2024
The FAOSTAT Trade data domain disseminates statistics on the international trade of food and agricultural products for the period of 1961–2023. The food and agricultural trade datasets are collected, processed and disseminated by FAO according to the standard international merchandise trade statistics methodology. This analytical brief looks at the overall trade of agricultural products, food excluding fish and the main commodity groups for the period 2010–2023.
Agricultural production statistics 2010–2023
2024
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) contributes key data that harmonize agricultural production data collected for 199 countries and territories. This analytical brief summarizes and highlights relevant patterns from 2010 up to 2023 featured by the latest data published on the FAOSTAT data platform.
Methods for monitoring the affordability of a healthy diet. FAO Statistics Working Paper Series / 24‑44
2024
This study updates the methods for monitoring the affordability of a healthy diet, calculated semiannually by FAO and the World Bank. The new affordability method described provides a valuable advance for the global monitoring of the cost and affordability of a healthy diet.
Methods for monitoring the cost of a healthy diet based on price data from the International Comparison Program. FAO Statistics Working Paper Series / 24-43
2024
The cost of a healthy diet (CoHD) and the affordability indicators – namely the prevalence (PUA) and the number (NUA) of people unable to afford a healthy diet – measure economic access to adequate food aligned with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ (FAO) definition of food security.
Progress on the level of water stress. Mid-term status of SDG Indicator 6.4.2 and acceleration needs, with special focus on food security, 2024
2024
The global indicator on water stress tracks the level of pressure that human activities exert over natural freshwater resources, indicating the environmental sustainability of the use of water resources. A high level of water stress has negative effects on social and economic development, increasing competition and potential conflict among users. This report is part of a series that tracks progress towards the various targets set out in SDG 6 using the SDG global indicators.