% of target households with a high or very high share of expenditure on food

Definition & calculation

Numerator: Number of surveyed households whose food expenditure share exceeds the agreed high/very high threshold (e.g. 65% or 75% of total expenditure)

Denominator: Total number of surveyed households

For each household, divide monthly food expenditure by total household expenditure, classify against agreed thresholds, and report the share above the high/very high cut-off.

Formula: (Numerator ÷ Denominator) × 100

Means of verification

Household economic/expenditure survey

Interpretation

Direction: Higher is better

Typical reporting frequency: Baseline, midline and endline (or annual)

Guidance & common pitfalls

A rising food-expenditure share signals economic vulnerability; a decrease is generally favourable but interpret alongside income and consumption data, since falling food spending can also reflect distress reduction in intake. Aligned with Food Security Cluster and IPC economic-vulnerability conventions.

This library is a curated reference to adapt, aligned generically with recognised humanitarian frameworks (Sphere, cluster registries, IASC, CHS and others). It is not an official indicator registry — always use the exact indicator definitions your donor or cluster requires.