Cereal consumption statistics vary according to whether they measure national food availability, consumer intake, or participation in a one-day survey. The figures below cover global cereal balances in 2022, selected consumer surveys accessed in 2025, U.S. grain availability from 1970 to 2014, and Canadian ready-to-eat cereal consumption in 2015.
Key Cereal Consumption Statistics
These highlights summarize the most useful measures across the different definitions and populations:
- In the 2022 FAOSTAT/GEMS analysis, cereal availability averaged 288 g per person per day across 17 global food-availability clusters.
- In 2022, the lowest GEMS/Food cluster had cereal availability of 136.8 g per person per day.
- In 2022, the highest GEMS/Food cluster had cereal availability of 479.2 g per person per day.
- Across countries reporting cereal balances in 2022, mean wheat availability was 302 g per capita per day.
- Across the same 2022 national distribution, mean rice availability was 141 g per capita per day.
- Across the same 2022 national distribution, mean maize availability was 54 g per capita per day.
- In 2022, the maximum national rice availability was 764 g per capita per day.
- In 2022, the median national wheat availability was 291 g per capita per day.
- In CIFOCOss consumer-only surveys accessed in 2025, children consumed a mean 85 g per day of sorghum.
- In the same surveys, adult cereal consumers consumed a mean 117 g per day of maize flour.
- In the same surveys, adult cereal consumers consumed a mean 50 g per day of millet.
- In the United States, loss-adjusted grain consumption averaged 6.7 ounce-equivalents per person per day in 2014.
- In the United States, loss-adjusted grain consumption averaged 5.0 ounce-equivalents per person per day in 1970.
- Between 1970 and 2014, U.S. grain consumption increased 35% in the ERS loss-adjusted series.
- Between 1970 and 2014, U.S. corn-products consumption increased 202%.
- In Canada in 2015, 22.0% of people aged 2 years or older consumed ready-to-eat cereal on a given day.
- In Canada in 2015, ready-to-eat cereal prevalence was 37.6% among children aged 2–12 years.
- In Canada in 2015, ready-to-eat cereal prevalence was 18.9% among adults aged 19 years or older.
Contents
- Global cereal consumption statistics and per-capita availability
- Cereal consumption statistics by grain
- Cereal intake statistics for children and adults
- Regional cereal availability and consumption patterns
- U.S. grain consumption statistics and long-term trends
- Ready-to-eat cereal consumption statistics and nutrition
Global Cereal Consumption Statistics and Per-Capita Availability
The broadest global figures are availability estimates rather than observed individual consumption. In the FAOSTAT/GEMS analysis for 2022, cereal availability averaged 288 g per person per day across 17 global food-availability clusters.
| 2022 GEMS/Food cluster measure | Cereal availability |
|---|---|
| Lowest cluster, G16 | 136.8 g/person/day |
| Average across 17 clusters | 288 g/person/day |
| Highest cluster, G06 | 479.2 g/person/day |
The reported difference between the highest and lowest clusters was 342.4 g per person per day. This is a simple comparison of cluster-level availability values, not a difference in measured dietary intake.
The source describes these figures as food-balance or cluster-availability measures. They represent food available within a population and should not be read as the amount each person actually ate.
Source: JECFA data call on total aflatoxins in cereals and cereal-based products (CX/CF 25/18/19).
Cereal Consumption Statistics by Grain: Wheat, Rice, Maize and Minor Cereals
The 2022 national food-balance distribution shows wheat and rice as the largest average availability categories among the grains reported here. The values below are country-level availability estimates, not consumer-level intake.
| Grain | Mean availability | Median or percentile measure |
|---|---|---|
| Wheat | 302 g/capita/day | Median 291; 90th percentile 432 |
| Rice | 141 g/capita/day | Median 66; 75th percentile 201; 95th percentile 504 |
| Maize | 54 g/capita/day | Median 25; 75th percentile 73; 95th percentile 222 |
| Sorghum | 19 g/capita/day | 95th percentile 125 |
| Millet | 12 g/capita/day | 95th percentile 62 |
| Barley | 9 g/capita/day | — |
| Rye | 5 g/capita/day | — |
| Oat | 5 g/capita/day | 95th percentile 16 |
The upper end of the national distribution was substantial for several grains. Maximum national availability reached 764 g per person per day for rice, 551 g for wheat, and 386 g for maize.
For the less prevalent grains, maximum national availability was 199 g per person per day for sorghum, 240 g for millet, 78 g for barley, 70 g for rye, and 27 g for oats. These maxima describe the highest reported national availability values in the distribution; they do not establish typical consumption worldwide.
Source: JECFA data call on total aflatoxins in cereals and cereal-based products (CX/CF 25/18/19).
Cereal Intake Statistics for Children and Adults
CIFOCOss figures provide a different lens: mean intake among cereal consumers in reported surveys accessed in 2025. The selected categories exclude breads and noodles, not all cereals are summed, consumer counts differ by category, and raw-versus-prepared dilution complicates comparisons with agricultural-commodity availability.
| Selected cereal category | Children, mean g/day | Adult consumers, mean g/day |
|---|---|---|
| Maize flour | 62 | 117 |
| Rice grain | 24 | 28 |
| Wheat flour | 20 | 32 |
| Sorghum | 85 | 88 |
| Millet | 34 | 50 |
| Barley | 5 | 20 |
| Rye | 8 | 20 |
| Oats | 10 | 25 |
Among children in the reporting countries, mean intake was 85 g per day for sorghum, 62 g for maize flour, 34 g for millet, 24 g for rice grain, and 20 g for wheat flour. The corresponding means were 10 g for oats, 8 g for rye, and 5 g for barley.
Among adult cereal consumers, mean intake was 117 g per day for maize flour and 88 g for sorghum. Adult means were 50 g for millet, 32 g for wheat flour, 28 g for rice grain, 25 g for oats, and 20 g each for barley and rye.
These consumer-only means should not be added together as a total cereal intake. The categories have different consumer populations and the dataset does not provide a complete all-cereal sum.
Source: JECFA data call on total aflatoxins in cereals and cereal-based products (CX/CF 25/18/19).
Regional Cereal Availability and Consumption Patterns
Percentiles help show how uneven national availability can be without assigning a single grain pattern to every region. In 2022, 90% of the national wheat-availability observations were at or below 432 g per capita per day, while the median was 291 g.
Rice had a median availability of 66 g per capita per day, a 75th percentile of 201 g, and a 95th percentile of 504 g. Maize had a median of 25 g, a 75th percentile of 73 g, and a 95th percentile of 222 g.
For grains with lower national means, the upper tail still varied considerably:
- The 95th percentile of national sorghum availability was 125 g per capita per day in 2022.
- The 95th percentile of national millet availability was 62 g per capita per day in 2022.
- The 95th percentile of national oat availability was 16 g per capita per day in 2022.
The distribution is useful for describing differences among countries reporting FAOSTAT cereal balances. It is not a direct ranking of household diets, and the availability measure does not account for how food was distributed or consumed by individuals.
Source: JECFA data call on total aflatoxins in cereals and cereal-based products (CX/CF 25/18/19).
U.S. Grain Consumption Statistics and Long-Term Trends
USDA ERS loss-adjusted food availability provides a long-run U.S. supply proxy. It is constructed from production, trade, stocks and measurable uses, with adjustments for spoilage, plate waste and other losses; it remains an estimate rather than a dietary recall measure.
| U.S. ERS measure | 1970 | 2014 or change |
|---|---|---|
| Total grain availability | 5.0 oz-eq/person/day | 6.7 oz-eq/person/day in 2014 |
| Total grain change | — | 35% increase, 1970–2014 |
| Wheat flour change | — | 23% increase, 1970–2014 |
| Corn-products change | — | 202% increase, 1970–2014 |
| Rye, oat and barley products combined | 0.21 oz-eq/person/day | — |
Average U.S. grain availability rose from 5.0 ounce-equivalents per person per day in 1970 to 6.7 in 2014. The ERS series reports a 35% increase over that period.
The grain categories did not move uniformly. Wheat-flour consumption increased 23%, while corn-products consumption increased 202% from 1970 to 2014; the corn-products category includes products such as tortillas, chips and cornstarch.
Source: Consumption of grains by Americans is above recommendations. USDA ERS food-availability documentation explains the construction and availability-versus-consumption distinction: Food Availability (Per Capita) Data System – Food Availability Documentation.
Ready-to-Eat Cereal Consumption Statistics in Canada
Ready-to-eat cereal participation is narrower than total cereal intake because it concerns a specific packaged-food category and a single survey day. The nationally representative Canadian Community Health Survey 2015-Nutrition found that 22.0% of Canadians aged 2 years or older consumed ready-to-eat cereal on a given day.
| Canadian population | Ready-to-eat cereal consumers on a given day, 2015 |
|---|---|
| Age 2 years or older | 22.0% |
| Children aged 2–12 years | 37.6% |
| Adolescents aged 13–18 years | 28.8% |
| Adults aged 19 years or older | 18.9% |
The age pattern was higher among children than adults: prevalence was 37.6% among children aged 2–12 years, 28.8% among adolescents aged 13–18 years, and 18.9% among adults aged 19 years or older.
These are cross-sectional, one-day consumption-prevalence estimates. They do not measure annual frequency, serving size, total cereal intake, or long-term nutrition outcomes.