Global levels of hunger are falling for the third consecutive year, while regional disparities persist

World hunger is reduced for the third year in a row by 2025, showing that progress is possible. However, improvements remain fragile, unevenly distributed and insufficient to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. State of food and nutrition security in the world in 2026 (SOFI 2026), which was published on Tuesday by five specialized agencies of the United Nations.

The report estimated that 7.8 percent of the global population faced hunger in 2025, down from 8.1 percent in 2024 and 8.6 percent in 2022, confirming sustained, if slow, improvement. This means that about 645 million people were affected by hunger in 2025, a decrease of almost 14 million compared to 2024 and 43 million compared to 2022.

Despite global progress, the recovery is still uneven across regions. Asia, along with Latin America and the Caribbean, has seen steady progress in recent years. In contrast, Africa is now home to approximately 309 million hungry people, compared to 292 million in Asia. Although Africa’s previous growth trend is beginning to stabilize, with the share of its population facing hunger falling from 20.3 percent in 2024 to 20.0 percent in 2025, the continent now has the highest number of hungry people in absolute terms amid a rapidly growing population.

Broader measures of food access tell a similar story. In 2025, an estimated 25.8 percent of the world’s population (about 2.1 billion people) experienced moderate or severe food insecurity, meaning they were occasionally forced to compromise on the quality or quantity of food they ate. That’s down from 27.1 percent in 2024 and 28.7 percent in 2020 – equating to nearly 86 million fewer people than in 2024 and 135 million fewer than in 2020, though still above pre-pandemic levels.

Regional differences remain large. More than half of Africa’s population (56.6 percent) faced moderate or severe food insecurity in 2025, compared with 20.3 percent in Asia, 22.9 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean, and 8.7 percent in North America and Europe. Food insecurity remains more prevalent in rural areas than in peri-urban and urban areas, while women are still disproportionately affected, although the gender gap narrowed slightly in 2025.

Famine projections in the context of conflicts in the Middle East

The annual report also offers updated hunger projections for the next five years in light of the conflict in the Middle East. Depending on the length of the impact of the crisis on food inflation – driven by higher energy and fertilizer prices – approximately 510 to 520 million people could still face hunger in 2030 (compared to a lower projection of 503 million in the pre-conflict scenario), with the global number of undernourished people expected to decrease by 20 percent. However, other potential disruptors, including the effects of weather extremes such as El Niño in 2026 and 2027, are not accounted for in these projections and could further exacerbate these effects.

The joint authors of the report – the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN World Food Program (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) – warn that conflict in the Middle East in 2026, together with extreme weather and reductions in official development assistance and humanitarian funding, threatens to undermine progress made in ending the global crisis. hunger.

Slow progress in achieving global food goals

The report notes that global progress in maternal and child nutrition also remains insufficient to meet international commitments, including nutrition targets by 2030.

Indicators such as stunting, weight loss, overweight, low birth weight and exclusive breastfeeding show only marginal improvements, and progress is too slow to meet targets. At the same time, anemia among women aged 15 to 49 years is worsening, while the prevalence of obesity among adults shows a steady increase – from 12.1 percent in 2012 to 16.2 percent in 2024 – contrary to the goal of halting its increase by 2025. Only 30.8 percent of children aged 6 to 23 months worldwide consume a minimally varied diet. nutrition and 150 million children under the age of five are still stunted.

Progress again varies significantly from region to region. The prevalence of stunting is falling in Africa and on track to meet the 2030 target in Asia, while exclusive breastfeeding rates are improving in all regions for which data are available. However, almost all regions face a widening gap in addressing anemia among women, and child overweight in Oceania is rising rapidly.

The price of a healthy diet

This year’s SOFI report takes a closer look at the cost of a healthy diet – the average minimum expenditure required to procure locally available food that meets energy and most nutritional needs. According to FAO and WHO, a healthy diet is one that is adequate, balanced, varied and moderate.

The report highlights that cost remains a major constraint to achievement SDG 2 (zero hunger)although reducing such costs alone will not be sufficient to improve diet quality and nutrition outcomes.

In 2025, the average global cost of a healthy diet rose to $4.28 at purchasing power parity (PPP) per person per day, up from $3.44 per PPP in 2021 and $2.94 per PPP in 2017, with the highest levels recorded in Latin America and the Caribbean ($4.91 per PPP). At the same time, the number of people who cannot afford a healthy diet decreased – from 2.97 billion (37.4 percent of the world’s population) in 2021 to 2.69 billion (32.7 percent) in 2025.

However, this trend masks significant regional differences. Affordability has worsened significantly in Africa, with 66.6 percent of the population unable to afford a healthy diet in 2025 – more than double the levels seen in Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.

The costs of a healthy diet vary greatly between regions due to structural differences in agri-food systems. Foods of animal origin, fruits and vegetables have the largest share of costs, while starchy foods contribute relatively little. Food of animal origin is the largest contributor to healthy eating costs in Africa, while vegetables represent the largest share in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Food value chains are the main determinant of prices. Post-farm activities account for 70 to 75 percent of what consumers pay, with up to 40 percent of total costs incurred in processing, logistics and wholesale. Improving efficiency in these segments is therefore crucial, especially to reduce the cost of nutrient-rich perishable foods.

Reducing the costs of a healthy diet requires context-specific policy responses that expand the supply of nutritious food while reducing structural costs in agri-food value chains. These include investments in infrastructure, research and development, irrigation and cold chains, along with reforms in subsidies, trade facilitation and regulatory frameworks.

Targeted interventions that boost productivity, reduce losses and promote sustainable practices can simultaneously improve nutrition outcomes, strengthen resilience and support climate goals.

“The work ahead in the years to 2030 is enormous. However, a world in which a healthy diet is no longer out of reach for nearly one in three people is a world worth building,” the report argues.

What they said

FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu: “The report shows that progress is possible, but we must go faster. Ending hunger and making healthy nutrition affordable requires political commitment, sustained investment and enabling policies. Recent crises – from natural disasters like the COVID-19 pandemic to man-made disasters like conflict hotspots, the war in Ukraine, the Gaza crisis and the recent disruption in the Strait of Hormuz – have demonstrated both the resilience of agri-food systems and the need to further strengthen them to better serve to the most vulnerable people in the world, farmers and consumers.”

President of IFAD, Alvaro Lario: “SOFI tells us that the cost of a healthy diet continues to rise and that almost 2.7 billion people still cannot afford a healthy diet. Resilient value chains must be a central part of the response. Our task now is to turn the evidence SOFI provides into investment – and through partnership. Together we can build value chains, market systems and rural economies that make healthy food affordable for all.”

UNICEF Executive Director, Catherine Russell: “Every child deserves the opportunity to grow and develop to their full potential, and that starts with access to nutritious, affordable food. This report is a powerful reminder that food systems are failing millions of children and families. Food, health, education and social protection must work hand in hand to protect the most vulnerable children and women from global shocks.”

WFP Acting Executive Director, Carl Skau: “Behind every figure in this report is a family counting the cost of food. Conflict and climate shocks are pushing them beyond their means. We must continue to work with partner agencies, governments and communities to build food systems that will withstand the shocks, so that families can afford a nutritious diet, even in times of crisis. We need sustainable investment now to meet the scale of the challenge.”

WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus: “While we welcome the clear progress we have made in reducing hunger, a healthy diet remains unaffordable for one in three people globally. Obesity is on the rise and progress in maternal and child nutrition has stalled. But we know what works: policies that make healthy food an easy choice, promoting breastfeeding, labeling on the front of the package, taxing unhealthy products and protecting children from harmful marketing. Healthy eating is not a luxury – it is the foundation of health and must be accessible to all.”