Global hunger fell for a third consecutive year in the latest UN estimate, but the improvement is modest: about 645 million people—7.8% of the world’s population—were undernourished in 2025. That is progress, not a path fast enough to meet the goal of ending hunger by 2030. Conflict, economic shocks and weather extremes can compound, making food harder to produce, afford and reach. A credible response must combine immediate humanitarian aid with stronger livelihoods, social protection, nutrition and climate resilience.
What do the latest global hunger figures actually measure?
The figures often grouped under “hunger” describe different problems and populations. They should not be added together or treated as interchangeable counts.
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| Measure | Latest figure in the cited source | What it describes |
|---|---|---|
| Prevalence of undernourishment (PoU), reported by SOFI | About 645 million people, or 7.8% of the global population, in 2025 (FAO and four other UN agencies, SOFI 2026) | An estimate of chronic undernourishment: insufficient dietary energy over time. It is not a count of everyone who sometimes cannot afford preferred foods. |
| Moderate or severe food insecurity, reported by SOFI | About 2.1 billion people, or 25.8% of the global population, in 2025 (FAO and four other UN agencies, SOFI 2026) | A broader measure that includes people who at times had to reduce food quality or quantity because of limited access. |
| Acute food insecurity, IPC/Cadre Harmonisé Phase 3 or above | 295 million people in 53 countries and territories in 2024 (FAO, 2026) | A crisis measure for people facing acute food insecurity in countries and territories assessed through these frameworks. Its scope differs from a global chronic-undernourishment estimate. |
| Acute hunger in food-crisis countries | 266 million people in WFP’s 2026 mid-year outlook (WFP, 2026) | An outlook for food-crisis countries, not the same global population measure as SOFI’s PoU estimate. |
SOFI is the UN system’s flagship assessment of food security and nutrition. Its 2026 edition, published on 21 July 2026 by FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO, focuses on the cost of healthy diets and the structural and economic forces that shape access to nutritious food. The figures above are estimates or outlooks for their stated years, not a single real-time headcount.
Is global hunger getting worse, or getting better?
The latest SOFI estimate shows a real but limited improvement. Global undernourishment was estimated at 8.6% in 2022, 8.1% in 2024 and 7.8% in 2025. The three-year decline does not mean that every region or population group improved, nor does it put the world on course to end hunger by 2030.
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Regional rates and totals tell different stories. Africa had about 309 million undernourished people in 2025, compared with 292 million in Asia. Africa’s prevalence fell from 20.3% in 2024 to 20.0% in 2025, yet rapid population growth means its absolute number remains the largest. A declining rate can therefore coexist with a very large number of people affected.
| Region | People facing moderate or severe food insecurity in 2025 |
|---|---|
| Africa | 56.6% of the population |
| Asia | 20.3% of the population |
| Latin America and the Caribbean | 22.9% of the population |
| Northern America and Europe | 8.7% of the population |
These regional percentages measure moderate or severe food insecurity, not undernourishment. They show why a global average can conceal sharply different levels of hardship. Women remain more affected by food insecurity globally, although the gender gap narrowed slightly in 2025, according to SOFI 2026.
Why is progress falling short of 2030?
Food insecurity is not simply a matter of whether food exists. People can go hungry when conflict interrupts access, a price shock makes food unaffordable, a disaster destroys a harvest, or displacement strips households of work and assets. These pressures can reinforce one another.
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Conflict disrupts food, markets and aid
Conflict can displace families, damage farms and infrastructure, interrupt trade, raise prices and block humanitarian access. WFP describes conflict as the primary cause of today’s hunger crisis. In FAO’s 2026 appeal figures, conflict was the main driver of acute food insecurity for 140 million people in 2024, nearly twice the 74 million reported for 2018. These are acute-crisis driver figures, not a breakdown of all people who are chronically undernourished.
Economic shocks make available food unaffordable
A country may have food in markets while many households lack the income to buy enough of it. Higher food, energy and fertilizer costs can strain household budgets and raise production and transport costs. In FAO’s cited comparison, economic shocks were the main driver of acute food insecurity for 59 million people in 2024, up from 10 million in 2018. The 2026 SOFI focus on the cost of a healthy diet underscores that access to nutritious food—not calories alone—is part of the problem.
Weather extremes damage crops and livelihoods
Droughts, floods and heatwaves can damage crops, livestock, homes and transport links. The effect can be worse when conflict has displaced producers or when low incomes leave families unable to absorb higher prices. FAO’s 2026 appeal figures identify weather extremes as the main driver for 96 million people facing acute food insecurity in 2024, compared with 29 million in 2018.
Displacement and persistent crises deepen vulnerability
People forced from home can lose land, employment and access to food or shelter, while relying more heavily on aid. Rural people, women and young people can face disproportionate exposure to these risks. Funding shortfalls also limit how long assistance can reach people: by November 2025, the Global Humanitarian Overview had received USD 11.5 billion of the USD 45 billion required, about one quarter, according to FAO. FAO also reported that 35 countries and territories had appeared in every Global Report on Food Crises for nine years; these protracted crises accounted for more than 80% of people in IPC/Cadre Harmonisé Phase 3 or above.
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What could the 2030 hunger outlook look like?
SOFI 2026 estimates that 510–520 million people may still face hunger in 2030, depending on how long the Middle East conflict’s impact on food inflation lasts. Its pre-conflict scenario was 503 million. These are conditional projections, not a prediction that the same outcome is certain. The report’s projection does not include possible effects from weather extremes such as El Niño in 2026 and 2027, so it does not capture every risk that could alter the trajectory.
The outlook is a warning about the distance still to travel, not proof that hunger must rise everywhere. The latest global estimate declined, but an extended conflict-related inflation shock could weaken progress, while unmodeled weather effects add uncertainty.
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Which responses address immediate need and longer-term causes?
No single intervention can cover both an emergency and the conditions that make households vulnerable to the next shock. The right mix depends on access, local markets, safety and the needs of affected people.
| Response | Where it is most useful | Key consideration |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency food or nutrition assistance | When people face acute shortages, displacement or severe malnutrition and need help now. | It can save lives quickly, but safe access and dependable delivery matter; assistance should not unintentionally displace local supply where markets are functioning. |
| Agricultural and livelihood support | Where people can produce, trade or earn, and restoring those activities can improve availability and incomes. | Support must be suited to local conditions and sequenced with relief when families cannot wait for a harvest or income recovery. |
| Cash transfers | Where markets function and households can safely access them, giving recipients flexibility to meet priority needs. | Purchasing power depends on prices, access and delivery systems; cash alone cannot help if food is unavailable or markets are inaccessible. |
| In-kind food assistance | Where markets are disrupted, supplies are unavailable, or households cannot safely obtain food themselves. | It provides food directly, but logistics and local supply conditions affect what can be delivered and when. |
Protect access and pursue peace
Where conflict blocks food and assistance, safe and unrestricted humanitarian access across borders and conflict lines is essential. WFP also identifies political and diplomatic solutions and peacebuilding as necessary to save lives and prevent crises from spreading. Aid cannot substitute for resolving the conditions that keep people from reaching food or earning a living.
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Emergency food and nutrition assistance remains urgent for people facing acute food insecurity. Social protection, cash transfers and national safety nets can help households manage shocks and maintain access to food; where markets are functioning, cash may also support local economic activity. Nutrition programs should address diet quality as well as hunger: adult obesity prevalence rose from 12.1% in 2012 to 16.2% in 2024, according to the five UN agencies behind SOFI 2026. Obesity is a separate nutrition-system concern, not a proxy for hunger.
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Support local production when conditions allow
FAO recommends scaling and sequencing agricultural solutions alongside food and nutrition assistance. Locally appropriate support for production and livelihoods can improve food availability, incomes and markets and reduce dependence on repeated external deliveries. It is not a universal replacement for food aid: people facing immediate shortages may need assistance before any farm or livelihood support can take effect, and choices should reflect local access, season and market conditions.
Invest in resilience and affordable healthy diets
Climate adaptation, early warning and anticipatory action can help communities prepare before weather shocks deepen their impact. The UN’s Goal 2 agenda also calls for resilient, climate-smart food systems and adaptation for smallholder farmers, alongside social protection and nutrition programs. Because affordability shapes whether people can obtain nutritious food, policy responses also need to address the structural costs that make healthy diets inaccessible.
Why does food loss and agricultural spending matter?
WFP says around 30% of global food production is lost or wasted each year; its explainer does not state a publication year for this figure. Reducing loss and waste can help use food and resources more effectively, but that fact alone does not show that eliminating waste would end hunger. Food must also reach people who can afford it, and crises can prevent access even when supplies exist.
Public spending is another measure of priorities, though spending totals alone do not show whether programs work or reach people in need. The United Nations Statistics Division reports that global public spending on agriculture reached $725 billion in 2024, while agriculture’s share of government spending fell from 2.09% in 2015 to 1.83% in 2024.
How should readers interpret a declaration of famine?
Acute food insecurity classifications and famine are not interchangeable. WFP’s explainer summarizes famine thresholds as 2 deaths per 10,000 people per day from starvation or disease plus malnutrition, 20% of households facing extreme food shortages, and 30% of children suffering acute malnutrition. For an operational or legal characterization, consult the applicable current IPC analysis rather than relying on this short summary.
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