This Analysis presents a recently developed food system indicator framework and holistic monitoring architecture to track food system transformation towards global development, health and sustainability goals. Five themes are considered: (1) diets, nutrition and health; (2) environment, natural resources and production; (3) livelihoods, poverty and equity; (4) governance; and (5) resilience. Each theme is divided into three to five indicator domains, and indicators were selected to reflect each domain through a consultative process. In total, 50 indicators were selected, with at least one indicator available for every domain. Harmonized data of these 50 indicators provide a baseline assessment of the world’s food systems. We show that every country can claim positive outcomes in some parts of food systems, but none are among the highest ranked across all domains. Furthermore, some indicators are independent of national income, and each highlights a specific aspiration for healthy, sustainable and just food systems. The Food Systems Countdown Initiative will track food systems annually to 2030, amending the framework as new indicators or better data emerge.

The indicator framework presented in this paper allows progress across global food systems to be meaningfully tracked, complementing the SDGs and other indicator frameworks with a curated set of existing indicators to monitor food systems, selected through a consultative process. It provides the foundation for future research to better understand how and where change comes about, and importantly how to identify where improvements in any one domain do not necessarily translate into improvements in others45,46. Looking across this baseline, the indicators included offer a trove of information that provides transparency and specificity to the important constructs but does not prescribe obvious or uniform actions. Three clear messages emerge. First, no country, region or income group exhibits desirable status across all indicators. Second, not all food system indicators are aligned to country income level; there are a diversity of food system trajectories. And third, there are some critical data gaps to monitor the world’s food systems that must be filled in the near term to guide action in service of food system transformation, meeting the SDGs and ensuring that food systems positively contribute to the many global goals linked to food systems.