International Food Consumption Patterns

Overview

Total and marginal budget shares and income and price elasticities are estimated, using 2005 data, for nine broad consumption groups and eight food subgroups across 144 countries which are summarized by income group:

• Food, beverages, and tobacco
• Bread and cereals
• Meats
• Fish
• Dairy products
• Fats and oils
• Fruit and vegetables
• Beverages and tobacco
• Other food products
• Clothing and footwear
• Housing
• Household furnishings and operations
• Medical care and health
• Recreation
• Transportation and communications
• Education
• Other items

The depth and breadth of these data provide an opportunity to incorporate the elasticities into research on changing demand patterns across the globe.

Source Report

We highly recommend reading International Evidence on Food Consumption Patterns for information on the data, economic modeling, and the econometric methodology used in estimating the elasticities.

Total and Marginal Budget Shares and Demand Elasticities

For each of the 144 countries included in this analysis, data are presented on per capita food group share of total expenditures by income group, individual food subgroup share of total food budgets, and income and price elasticities for the broad groups and food subgroups.

Excel Tables (2005 Data)

• Income Elasticities for Broad Consumption Categories, 144 Countries, 2005
• Compensated Own-price Elasticity for Broad Consumption Groups, 144 Countries, 2005 (marginal utility of income held constant)
• Compensated Own-price Elasticity for Broad Consumption Groups, 144 Countries, 2005 (real income held constant)
• Uncompensated Own-price Elasticity for Broad Consumption Groups, 144 Countries, 2005
• Income Elasticities for Food Subcategories, 144 Countries, 2005
• Unconditional Own-price Elasticity for For Subcategories, 144 Countries, 2005 (marginal utility of income held constant)
  

  - With Change in Food Prices

  - With Changes in Price for Clothing & Footwear

  - With Price Change for Gross Rent/Fuel/Power

  - With Price Change for House Furnishing & Operations

  - With Price Change for Medical Care

  - With Price Change for Education

  - With Price Change for Transport & Communication

  - With Price Change for Recreation

  - With Price Change for Other Products

  
  
• Distribution of Additional $1 Income Across Broad Expenditure Categories, 144 Countries, 2005
• Distribution of Additional $1 Income Across Food Subgroups, 144 Countries, 2005
• Budget Shares for Broad Aggregates and Conditional Budget Shares for Food Categories

Zip File Containing 1996 Data in CSV and TXT format

International Food Consumption Patterns (updated 3.19.10)

- zip file contains a csv and text file with 23,000 rows of data.

Source Data and Methodology

International comparison project data for 2005 were used to estimate a two-stage demand model.

Recommended Reading

Changing Structure of Global Food Consumption and Trade explores factors underlying shifts in global food consumption patterns and the composition of world agricultural trade. Higher incomes, diet diversification, and increasing demand for higher quality and labor-saving products are among the factors that influence food consumption and trade.

Converging Patterns in Global Food Consumption and Food Delivery Systems points out that globalization and worldwide income growth are increasing similarities across countries in what consumers eat and where they shop and dine.