A new research by Oxfam examines the food quality and quantity in different countries from every part of the world. The report is called “Good Enough to Eat” and it has organized 125 countries in a food ranking. The list is based on factors like food price, quality and unhealthy eating habits. All in all, most countries in Europe received high scores. Those in the Middle East, however, are mostly seen at the bottom of the ranking.
The Middle East
The only Middle East country that managed to find a place among the best food locations is Kuwait. It takes the 41st spot with a score of 10 points. According to the report, although undernourishment is rare in the country, there are some cases of underweight children. Also, obesity is a very big problem in Kuwait. Diabetes rates are also above the average.
Further down the list is Jordan. This Middle East country has a score of 22, which puts it on the 51st place. Exactly 20 potions lower, is Saudi Arabia (71). It is followed by Iran and Egypt, which shares the 80th spot. Iraq was given 33 points that pushes it nearly to the bottom of the list, at the 95th position. The main food-related issues in all of these countries is the poor food diversity, as well as the high risk of diabetes for the local population. As for the United Arab Emirates, the country did not even manage to find a place on list. This means that the price and quality of food in the UAE is outside the top 125.
Ranking Leaders
The first positions in the ranking are dominated by European countries. As a matter of fact, the top 20 includes only countries from the Old Continent. The list is topped by the Netherlands, while the second place is shared by France and Switzerland. They all offer easy access to healthy food and water. The report explains that the Netherlands has established a good food market, which offers plenty of food at an affordable price. In addition, people in the country have one of the most balanced diets in the world.
Interestingly, the U.K. is not among the leaders here. The country is not even in the top ten. According to Oxfam, that is due to the fact that food prices there are quite volatile. In fact, in this particular category, the United Kingdom has ranked side by side to Malta (33), Peru (51) and Kyrgyzstan (65).
The European rule is broken up by Japan and the United States. Japan is outside the first twenty because of the high food prices in the country. The U.S., on the other hand, showed worrying levels of diabetes and obesity. Therefore, although it scored great on food quality and affordability, the unhealthy eating habits of the population dragged down the ranking. Both of them are listed under the 21st spot and are the highest-ranked non-European countries on the chart.
At the Bottom
The bottom of the ranking was mainly occupied by African countries, like Bangladesh and Laos which take the 102nd and the 112th spots, respectively. Another three countries in Africa can also be seen at the last places of the chart – Ethiopia and Angola share the 123rd position, while Chad closes the ranking at the 125th spot.
Here is the list of the 10 countries that top Oxfam’s food index this year:
- Netherlands
- France
- Switzerland
- Denmark
- Sweden
- Austria
- Belgium
- Ireland
- Italy
- Portugal
According to the report, there are about 840 million hungry people around the world. Among the main causes of hunger are climate change, small-scale agriculture, limited investments in infrastructure, prohibitive trading agreements and others. The study concludes by stating that governments should find a new a more effective way to distribute food around the globe.
