Millions of people worldwide face challenges linked to food security. Some do not have proper access to healthy food and clean drinking water while others face acute malnutrition and are on the verge of starvation. Despite the increasing amounts of financial aid and efforts to tackle the issue, current statistical data shows mostly stagnation, slashing hopes of achieving the Sustainable Development Goal of ending hunger by 2030.
The most vulnerable categories facing food insecurity are children, pregnant girls and women and breastfeeding mothers.
In this article, readers will find current statistics and trends in malnutrition and hunger, with an emphasis on several countries with the highest Global Hunger Index.
What is hunger?
Although defined as an uncomfortable sensation caused by insufficient calorie intake, hunger is more complex than simply having an empty stomach. One perspective to consider is a combination of factors such as discrimination, poverty, inequality, war, disasters, and poor healthcare systems which lead to serious issues linked with food insecurity among large populations.
Hunger is closely linked to malnutrition, which refers to both insufficient (undernutrition) or excessive (overnutrition) food intake, as well as an unbalanced supply of vital nutrients. Hunger triggers malnutrition – the state of the body when it is deprived of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients needed for organ function.
There are several forms of malnutrition:
- Wasting – when a person is too thin for their height and the risk of death is high.
- Stunting – when a child appears too short for their age due to constant malnutrition or the lack of appropriate treatment.
- Lack of micronutrients – when the human body does not receive sufficient vitamins or minerals for healthy growth.
- Obesity – a poor diet can lead to obesity, which increases the risk of food-related non-communicable diseases.
Hunger and malnutrition statistics
In 2023, hunger was the main issue for approximately 733 million people, the majority being from Asia (385 million), while in Africa, the proportion of the population facing hunger was the highest at 20.4%. This data was revealed by the World Health Organization in its annual report for 2024.
- For three consecutive years since 2020, the number of people who faced hunger has remained at almost the same level, being 152 million higher than the number in 2019.
- 71.5% of people in low-income nations struggle to buy nutritious food as opposed to 6.3% in high-income nations.
- 2.3 billion people worldwide had moderate-to-severe food insecurity in 2023 – a figure that has not changed much since 2020. Of these, more than 864 million suffered from extreme food insecurity, often going for at least one full day without food.
- Undernutrition is a contributing factor in about 50% of fatalities among children.
- Data from 2022 shows that 149 million children under the age of five were stunted, 45 million were wasted, and 37 million were overweight or obese.
Regional patterns differ greatly, with every fifth person in Africa experiencing hunger, compared to every 12th or 16th person in Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean.
Global hunger data by country
Global food insecurity is largely caused by a number of factors, including conflicts, economic issues, inequalities, and natural disasters.
The Global Hunger Index (GHI) report is a useful tool to monitor global and national levels of hunger and identify the areas and nations that require immediate attention to end hunger. The index, prepared by a group of NGOs, offers data on 136 countries and ranks 125 of these (11 countries could not be ranked due to the lack of data).
The GHI scores:
Table: Top 10 countries with the highest hunger index scores:
Note: *Individual scores could not be calculated due to lack of data
Source: Global Hunger Index
Yemen
Over nine years have elapsed since Yemen’s conflict began, and 377,000 people have died as a result of violence, malnutrition, illness, and other consequences of the conflict.
With 17 million Yemenis experiencing food insecurity in 2023, the nation is grappling with one of the greatest hunger crises globally.
The need for humanitarian aid is rising, but financing is not keeping up with just 32% of funding requests being actually fulfilled in 2023.
Chad
This landlocked country in Central Africa has one of the highest levels of hunger in the world. According to the World Food Programme, a UN agency, 42% of the country’s population live below the poverty line.
Almost 3.4 million people out of the total population of 19.3 million are predicted to face acute hunger during the June-August lean season when food becomes scarce.
One of the reasons for such drastic numbers is the fact that the country struggles to provide nutrition to the 1.2 million refugees who have arrived since early 2000 from Sudan and the Central African Republic.
Madagascar
This country has one of the worst rates of poverty and has been significantly affected by frequent natural disasters. In addition to widespread infertile soil, many people face challenges in accessing clean drinking water.
Poor government services and inadequate transportation networks make it very difficult for humanitarian organizations to reach people in need.
Food security has significantly improved since the end of 2023 as a result of major humanitarian and development missions. However, progress has been under threat mostly due to the consequences of El Niño and the lack of funding.
Final word
The confluence of violence, natural disasters, and economic downturns is exacerbating food insecurity and malnutrition. While some countries have made progress in addressing hunger, a lack of adequate funding, combined with the aforementioned challenges, creates significant barriers to implementing effective interventions and securing lasting improvements.
