Statistics and Information
The world needs reliable information on how many people suffer from hunger, who they are and where they live. To help eliminate hunger, countries need updated reliable information on many things: food production, prices and trade, land use, levels of nutrition, food aid and population. FAO is the world's leading source of such data and has been for more than 50 years.
FAO compiles data on the volume of food produced by countries, the money they earn from this production and how much it costs them to produce it. It collects data on people and the places they live, on the way they use land and water, etc.
This information is available through the FAOSTAT system, an online FAO database that currently has more than three million records in five languages: Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, French and English. FAO also has a country-specific database called COUNTRYSTAT.
Furthermore, FAO constantly monitors food prices through FAO Food Price Indices and publishes quarterly reports, such as the Crop Prospects and Food Situation, as well as biannual publications, like the Food Outlook report.
Turning Information into Knowledge
The collection and dissemination of data, however, is only part of the work carried out at FAO. Agronomists, forestry, fisheries, livestock and nutrition experts, social scientists and economists, statisticians and other professionals do something very special with this data: they turn it into knowledge.
FAO offers the world a clear and accurate picture of the state of forests, fisheries, agriculture and hunger in the world and provides this information through its four major publications:
- The State of Food and Agriculture
- The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture
- State of the World's Forests
- The State of Food Insecurity in the World
While these are the most important FAO publications, the Organization also publishes hundreds of other documents and reports each year.
All these FAO documents help provide Member Countries with the knowledge needed to understand the causes and dynamics of hunger and to establish policies to eradicate this phenomenon.
More Information
AGORA - Access to Global Online Research in Agriculture
This program provides public institutions in developing countries with free access to the main publications on agriculture, as well as environmental, life and social sciences. It provides institutions in 107 countries with access to 1900 publications.
A global spatial database of subnational agricultural land-use statistics.
AQUASTAT is the global information system on water use in agriculture and rural areas developed by the FAO Land and Water Development Division. AQUASTAT provides users with comprehensive statistics on the status of agricultural water management worldwide, with emphasis on developing countries and countries in transition.
CountrySTAT is a national statistical system for food and agriculture. This system harmonizes and integrates data on food and agriculture from different sources. Through a central database, policymakers and researchers can group data on different topics, such as production, trade and consumption in order to study relationships and processes.
The FAO statistical database is an online multilingual database that currently contains more than one million international time-series records from over 210 countries and territories covering statistics on agriculture, nutrition, fisheries, forestry, food aid, land use and population.
FAOSTAT-Agriculture provides statistics on crops, livestock, irrigation, land use, fertilizers, pesticide use and agricultural machinery.
FAOSTAT-Forestry provides statistics on imports and exports of wood and paper.
Fishery and Acquaculture Statistics
The FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department provides recommendations and objective information to Members to promote responsible acquaculture and fisheries. To fulfill this role, the Department compiles, analyses and disseminates fishery data organized in data collections.
The Forestry Country Profiles site of the FAO Forestry Department provides information on various issues relating to forests from all countries around the world.
The Global Livestock Production and Health Atlas (GLIPHA) is a user-friendly and interactive electronic atlas that uses the Key Indicator Database System (KIDS), a mapping system based on key indicators developed by FAO. The atlas provides a scaleable overview of the spatial and temporal variation of quantitative data related to animal health and production through the combination of maps, tables and charts (only in English).
The PAAT Secretariat (Programme against African Trypanosomiasis) combines the efforts of FAO, WHO, IAEA and OAU/IBAR to promote integrated trypanosomiasis control through coordinated international action. The ultimate goal is to improve food security, as well as sustainable agricultural and rural development.
The FAO Statistics Division compares and disseminates food and agricultural statistics from around the world. The Division develops methodologies and standards for data collection and holds regular meetings and workshops to support Member States in the development of statistical systems. Publications, working papers and statistical yearbooks are available on statistical domains ranging from trade and production to food security. The FAO Statistics Division maintains the statistical database of the Organization (FAOSTAT).
TERRASTAT contains databases with information on the main soil, desert soil and dry area limitations, population distribution, watershed analysis, severity of land degradation and land degradation caused by human agricultural activities.
- Panorama of Food and Nutritional Security
- The Outlook for Agriculture and Rural Development in the Americas
- Analysis of the State of Food and Nutritional Security in Latin America and the Caribbean
- Food Prices in Latin America and the Caribbean
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