Having enough to eat is a basic human right and one of our most fundamental needs. Hunger, or undernourishment, happens when people don’t get enough calories to live an active and healthy life. While the world has made significant strides in reducing hunger over the years, we are still far from ending it completely. In fact, hunger has been increasing over the past three years, reaching levels we saw a decade ago.

In 2023, about one in eleven people worldwide suffered from hunger, as highlighted in the latest State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report. The impact of prolonged hunger is devastating, especially for children, leading to serious health problems and lifelong physical and cognitive impairments. Undernutrition isn’t just about not getting enough calories; it also means lacking essential proteins, vitamins, and minerals.

Understanding the scope and causes of this crisis is crucial. Factors like armed conflicts, extreme weather events, and the ongoing socio-economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic have pushed global hunger to a critical level.

Here are some essential facts about global hunger and food insecurity.

2023 Global Hunger Index Overview

• In 2023, the Global Hunger Index (GHI) score for the world was 18.3, which is considered moderate. This was only slightly lower than the 2015 score of 19.1, showing that efforts to reduce hunger have mostly stalled. (1)
• The number of undernourished people worldwide, many of whom experience chronic hunger, has risen sharply from 572 million to approximately 735 million. This alarming increase highlights the failure of our current food systems to provide sufficient nutritious food for everyone. In 2022, over 3.1 billion people were unable to afford healthy diets, underscoring the widespread challenges in accessing adequate nutrition. (1)
• The world generates enough food to sustain all 7.5 billion people. Our global food production is very efficient, yet we still can’t feed everyone. This is mainly because of food waste. (2)
• Around 733 million people faced hunger in 2023, equivalent to one in eleven people globally and one in five in Africa, with the same number of people being chronically undernourished, according to the latest State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report published by five United Nations specialized agencies. (3)
• According to projections from the Global Hunger Index (GHI), if current trends continue, 58 countries will fail to reach low hunger levels by 2030 – let alone zero hunger that the world actually pledged to achieve! (1)

Global Food Insecurity Overview

A total 309 million people face acute hunger in 71 countries in 2024 – almost 200 million above pre-COVID-19 levels. Of these, more than 37.2 million people face emergency levels of hunger or worse.  (5)

• In 2022, 29.6 percent of the global population, or 2.4 billion people, were moderately or severely food insecure, meaning they did not have access to adequate food. This is 391 million more people than in 2019, before the pandemic. (4)
• In 2022, an estimated 149 million children under 5 were stunted (too short for their age), 45 million were wasted (too thin for their height), and 37 million were overweight or living with obesity. Nearly half of the deaths among children under 5 are linked to undernutrition. (6)
• In 2022, the severity of acute food insecurity rose to 22.7 percent, up from 21.3 percent in 2021, highlighting a worsening trend in global acute food insecurity.

Annual Deaths Caused by Hunger

Each year, around 9 million people die from hunger and hunger-related diseases, which is more than the deaths from AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined. (7)

Causes of Hunger

Poverty

• 356 million children around the world live in extreme poverty. Without sufficient and stable incomes, families cannot afford nutritious food, clean water, or health care. (8)
• Poor countries spend about two-thirds of their income on food, compared to 25% in rich countries. They survive on less than $2.15 a day, an amount that makes it impossible to maintain a healthy life anywhere in the world. (8)

Climate Change

Dirty Water and Unsafe Sanitation

• 2.2 billion people lack access to clean water. We can’t fight hunger without addressing waterborne diseases that contribute to it.
• 80% of families make women and girls responsible for fetching all water. Conflict and climate change contribute to the shortage of clean water in many parts of the world. (10)
• 3.6 billion people lack access to safe sanitation. Every day, 1,000 children die because of dirty water, unsafe sanitation, and unhygienic living conditions. (10)

Hunger Due to Conflicts

• Over 85% of people experiencing hunger crises are in conflict-affected countries. (11)
• 60% of the world’s hungriest people live in areas affected by conflict. (12)
• The conflict has driven 158 million innocent people into severe hunger. It forces families from their homes, destroys economies, ruins infrastructure, and makes food nearly impossible to find or afford. (12)
• 8 out of 10 of the world’s worst food crises are driven by war and persecution. (12)

Country-Specific Statistics

The GHI ranks countries on a 100-point scale: scores below 10.0 indicate low hunger, 10.0 to 19.9 indicate moderate hunger, and 20.0 to 34.9 indicate serious hunger, values from 35.0 to 49.9 are alarming. (13)

• Fourteen countries with moderate to alarming 2023 GHI scores saw less than 5% improvement from 2015 to 2023, indicating minimal progress. (1)
• Nine countries have alarming hunger levels: Burundi, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Niger, Somalia, South Sudan, and Yemen. (13)
• Seven countries with extremely alarming GHI scores in 2000—Angola, Chad, Ethiopia, Niger, Sierra Leone, Somalia, and Zambia—have all made progress since then. (13)
• South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa have the highest hunger levels in the world, each with a Global Hunger Index (GHI) score of 27.0, indicating serious hunger. (1)

• Somalia and the Central African Republic have the second-highest undernourishment rate at 48.7% (2020-2022). (1)

• Burundi, also provisionally classified as alarming, has the highest rate of child stunting at 55.8 percent. Approximately two-thirds of the country’s population cannot afford a nutritious diet. (1)

Food Shortage Statistics 

• According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, around 660 million people may still face hunger in 2030, partly due to the lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on global food security. This is 30 million more people than if the pandemic had not occurred. (14)
• In 2023, over 648 million people are in extreme poverty, an increase of more than half a million since 2020. It means over 8% of the world’s population lacks basic resources or does not benefit from the resources they have. (15)
• 37.2 million people are experiencing ’emergency’ or worse levels of hunger. (16)

Key Aspects of World Hunger

Diet and Nutrition

• In 2021, over 3.1 billion people could not afford a healthy diet, though there was some improvement from 2020 to 2021. (17)

Gender Disparity

• 84.2 million more women and girls than men and boys are experiencing food insecurity. (19) 

Child Mortality

• In 2022, Action Against Hunger Organization screened 3.1 million children under five, admitting 787,435 for severe and moderate acute malnutrition treatment. (20)
• An estimated 45 million children under the age of five were suffering from wasting, the most dangerous form of malnutrition, which increases their risk of death by up to 12 times. (21)
• A child dies from hunger every 10 seconds. (7)
• About 45% of deaths in children under the age of 5 are attributed to nutrition-related factors. (22)
• Nearly half of under-5 child deaths are due to undernutrition, mostly in low- and middle-income countries. (6)

Hunger in America 

• A total of 47.4 million people resided in households that experienced food insecurity. At times during the year, these households didn’t know if they would have enough food or couldn’t get enough food for everyone because they didn’t have enough money or resources. Food-insecure households include those with both low and very low food security. (23)
• In 2023, food insecurity impacted 17.9 percent, or 6.5 million, of households with children. In some of these households, only the adults were food insecure, while in others, both adults and children experienced hunger.In 7.2 million households, both children and adults experienced food insecurity. (23)
• In 2023, 13.5 percent of U.S. households, or 18.0 million, experienced food insecurity at some point during the year. (23)
• The prevalence of food insecurity in 2023 was statistically significantly higher than the 12.8 percent (17.0 million) reported in 2022. (23)

UK Hunger Statistics

• The Food Foundation’s bi-annual Food Insecurity survey in September 2022 reported that in the UK, 26 percent of households with children and 18 percent of adults (9.7 million people) experienced food insecurity during the previous month. (20)
• In 2022, over 2 million British adults went an entire day without eating because they couldn’t afford food. Additionally, 2 million British children did not have access to a healthy and affordable diet. (20)

Final Thought

In 2021, about 2.3 billion people (29.3%) experienced moderate or severe food insecurity. The fight against hunger and malnutrition is one of the most pressing challenges of our time. Despite advances, world hunger facts show that millions still suffer from chronic hunger and poor nutrition. The global food crisis, fueled by conflict and the climate crisis, has left many moderately food insecure, unable to access the dietary energy they need. Food and nutrition security remains out of reach for far too many, underscoring the urgency for comprehensive food assistance programs.

We must come together to measure hunger accurately and address the malnutrition crisis with renewed commitment. By prioritizing nutrition security and taking bold actions to end hunger, we can create a future where no one goes to bed hungry. Ending hunger is not just a goal; it’s a necessity for a just and thriving world. Let’s work together to ensure that everyone has the chance to live a healthy, nourished life.