By Riad Beladi
The world’s biggest food-importing countries are not necessarily the countries most dependent on imported food.
A ranking based on net food exports minus imports, excluding fish, shows China with by far the largest food deficit at around $125 billion, followed by the United States and United Kingdom at approximately $45 billion each. Japan follows at $43 billion.
But looking only at the dollar value can be misleading. Countries have vastly different populations and economies. A $10 billion food deficit means something very different for a country of 10 million people than it does for a country of 1.4 billion.
This becomes particularly interesting in the case of Algeria.
The chart places Algeria at approximately $11 billion in net food deficit, making it 11th in the ranking. With a population of about 46.8 million, that represents approximately $235 per person.
More importantly, Algeria’s economy is much smaller than those of the major Western economies in the ranking. World Bank data puts Algeria’s 2024 GDP at approximately $269.3 billion and its population at 46.8 million.
That means the $11 billion food deficit is equivalent to approximately 4.1% of Algeria’s GDP.
That is the figure that changes the story.
ALGERIA: SMALLER POPULATION, BIG FOOD DEPENDENCE
China has a food deficit more than 11 times larger than Algeria’s. But China has around 1.4 billion people and an economy of approximately $18.7 trillion. Its $125 billion deficit therefore represents only around 0.7% of GDP and approximately $89 per person.
Algeria, by comparison, has a population of less than 47 million.
Its $11 billion food deficit represents approximately:
$235 per person
and
4.1% of GDP.
This makes Algeria one of the most interesting markets in the entire ranking.
For international food manufacturers and exporters, the size of a market should therefore not be judged simply by the country’s total food imports. Population, GDP and the country’s ability to produce food domestically are equally important.
Algeria’s position suggests a substantial structural requirement for imported food.
THE COMPLETE RANKING
The following table combines the net food deficit shown in the Post factum analysis with 2024 population and GDP data. The per-person and GDP percentages are calculated from those figures. World Bank’s 2024 data provides the population and GDP comparison.
| Rank | Country | Net food deficit | Population | Deficit per person | GDP | Deficit as % of GDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | $125bn | 1.408bn | $89 | $18.73tn | 0.67% |
| 2 | US | $45bn | 340m | $132 | $29.30tn | 0.15% |
| 3 | UK | $45bn | 69.2m | $650 | $3.69tn | 1.22% |
| 4 | Japan | $43bn | 123.8m | $347 | $4.03tn | 1.07% |
| 5 | South Korea | $22bn | 51.8m | $425 | $1.88tn | 1.17% |
| 6 | Saudi Arabia | $21bn | 35.3m | $595 | $1.24tn | 1.69% |
| 7 | Germany | $19bn | 83.5m | $228 | $4.69tn | 0.41% |
| 8 | UAE | $16bn | 11.0m | $1,456 | $552bn | 2.90% |
| 9 | Iraq | $14bn | 46.0m | $304 | $280bn | 5.01% |
| 10 | Philippines | $11bn | 115.8m | $95 | $462bn | 2.38% |
| 11 | 🇩🇿 Algeria | $11bn | 46.8m | $235 | $269.3bn | 4.09% |
| 12 | Taiwan | $10bn | 23.4m | $427 | ~$795bn | 1.26% |
| 13 | Bangladesh | $9bn | 173.6m | $52 | $450bn | 2.00% |
| 14 | Egypt | $9bn | 116.5m | $77 | $389bn | 2.31% |
| 15 | Sweden | $8bn | 10.6m | $757 | $604bn | 1.32% |
Net food deficit figures are from the supplied Post factum/FAO chart. Population and GDP are 2024 figures; calculated ratios are approximate. Algeria’s World Bank figures are 46.8 million people and $269.3 billion GDP.
WHY ALGERIA STANDS OUT
The ranking produces a surprising result.
Algeria has almost exactly the same net food deficit as the Philippines — around $11 billion. But the two markets are very different.
The Philippines has approximately 116 million people, compared with Algeria’s 46.8 million. The Algerian food deficit therefore represents considerably more food-import value per person.
Algeria’s position is even more striking when GDP is considered.
At approximately 4.1% of GDP, Algeria’s net food deficit is:
- far higher relative to its economy than China’s 0.67%
- far higher than the US’s 0.15%
- far higher than Germany’s 0.41%
- substantially higher than the UK’s 1.22%
- higher than Saudi Arabia’s 1.69%
- only exceeded in this table by Iraq’s approximately 5.0%
This puts Algeria in a very different category from the world’s largest economies.
THE ALGERIAN OPPORTUNITY FOR FOOD EXPORTERS
For European food producers, this is where the ranking becomes commercially interesting.
Algeria is not a market of hundreds of millions of consumers. It is a market of around 47 million people. Yet its net food deficit is estimated at $11 billion.
That combination means that Algeria should not be dismissed because it does not appear among the world’s biggest economies.
Its food-import requirement is substantial relative to the size of its economy.
The country is also strategically positioned close to Europe, with established commercial links across the Mediterranean. For European food manufacturers, private-label producers, ingredient suppliers and FMCG exporters, this creates an important market to watch.
The country’s food requirements extend beyond basic commodities. International suppliers can participate in areas including processed foods, dairy products, cereals, pasta, sauces, canned products, frozen foods and other supermarket categories.
THE UAE REVEALS ANOTHER SIDE OF THE STORY
The UAE provides perhaps the most dramatic example of why population matters.
Its $16 billion net food deficit is only a fraction of China’s $125 billion. But the UAE has approximately 11 million people.
That produces a calculated $1,456 per person, compared with only $89 for China.
Its food deficit is also equivalent to around 2.9% of GDP.
The UAE is therefore a much smaller market in absolute population terms, but an exceptionally important food-import market on a per-capita basis.
IRAQ AND ALGERIA: TWO IMPORTANT MARKETS
Iraq is another country that deserves attention.
Its approximately $14 billion deficit is equivalent to about 5% of GDP, the highest ratio in this group.
Algeria follows at approximately 4.1%.
These figures suggest that the two countries deserve a different type of analysis from China or the United States. Their importance is not simply the absolute amount of food entering the country, but the economic weight of those imports.
WHAT THE NUMBERS REALLY TELL US
The headline story is that China buys the most food on a net basis.
But the deeper story is more complicated.
The world’s biggest food markets are not necessarily the world’s most food-dependent markets.
China dominates in absolute dollars because of its enormous population and economy.
The United States also has a huge food-import market, but its food deficit is extremely small compared with its $29 trillion economy.
The UK, Japan and South Korea show much greater food-import dependence per person.
The UAE stands out on a per-person basis.
And Algeria stands out because a $11 billion food deficit represents more than 4% of the country’s economic output.
For the international food industry, that may be a more useful indicator than the headline ranking.
Algeria may be 11th in absolute net food deficit, but its position becomes much more significant when the country’s 46.8 million consumers and $269 billion economy are taken into account.
That makes Algeria one of the markets that international food exporters should be watching closely.