World: Hunger has worsened in 32 countries since 2018, finds index

Attachments • Download Report (PDF | 5.41 MB | Full report) • Download Report (PDF | 1.87 MB | Synopsis) What do we know about the hunger situation worldwide? Has progress been made or are there any setbacks? Using the Global Hunger Index, the global hunger situation can be calculated and assessed. The Global Hunger Index (GHI) measures and compares the extent of various hunger indicators such as undernourishment and child mortality each year—worldwide, across regions, and in individual countries. Welthungerhilfe (WHH) releases the index annually with global, regional, and national figures. It aims to draw greater attention to the commitment to end hunger, to show in which regions of the world additional resources are most urgently needed, and to provide recommendations for action to eradicate hunger. Lower GHI scores indicate less hunger. Higher scores indicate more. Global Hunger Index 2026: No Security Without Food Security The world has become less secure. Wars and conflicts, climate shocks, and rising prices are threatening the food security of millions of people. This is reflected in the Global Hunger Index: the global GHI score stands at 18.1 in 2026—a deterioration compared to the last methodologically comparable score of 17.6 in 2018. This means that while the level of hunger remains in the moderate category, the long-term trend toward an improvement in the food security situation has been interrupted. Three of the four indicators that make up the index have worsened since 2018: undernourishment, child stunting, and child wasting have all been recorded more frequently. Only child mortality—the fourth indicator—has continued to decline slightly. In 32 countries, hunger has increased again since 2018. In affected regions, a spiral of insecurity looms. Crises reduce food security; the resulting existential threat to people's lives can in turn lead to political instability and new crises. In 8 countries, GHI scores classify the food security situation as alarming: Burundi, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Yemen. In a further 36 countries, the situation is considered serious. The Zero Hunger by 2030 goal is moving further out of reach. If the trend observed since 2000 continues at the same pace, 57 countries will not achieve a reduction of hunger to low levels by 2030. Drivers of Food Insecurity: Conflict, Climate, Funding Gaps Among the main drivers of hunger today are armed conflicts. The number of state-based armed conflicts recently reached its highest level since World War II. Recent years have shown how profoundly wars can disrupt regional food systems even at a distance, under conditions of globalization. Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the war against Iran have caused trade disruptions that continue to reverberate worldwide in the form of rising food prices. In low-income populations, such price increases often lead to a shift in dietary habits toward cheaper, less nutritious food—or to other harmful coping mechanisms, such as skipping meals. Malnutrition can be the result. Extreme weather events, which are occurring more frequently in the context of climate change, and the resulting crop failures are worsening the food security situation. These multiple crises can reinforce one another and weaken the resilience of food systems. Food insecurity in turn feeds back into the stability of political structures and contributes to the escalation of conflicts. Part of the problem is the international community's dwindling willingness to finance support measures. Despite the accumulation of crisis events, spending on measures to improve food security has fallen to 2016/2017 levels. As a result, aid programs have had to be scaled back and emergency food rations cut. Monitoring capacities in the field of food security are also suffering from the lack of funding. Where data on indicators such as undernourishment and child mortality are no longer being collected, emergencies go unnoticed for too long. That progress on food security remains possible despite all these difficulties is demonstrated by 31 countries that have managed to reduce their GHI scores by 10 percent or more compared to 2018. In Africa, Uganda and Togo in particular have made significant advances in reducing hunger; in South Asia, Nepal has made the greatest progress since 2000. Hunger is Unevenly Distributed Across Regions The global hunger level remains in the moderate category with a GHI score of 18.1. However, there are large differences between regions of the world. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the GHI score has risen since 2018 and stands at 27.5, placing it in the serious category. The region is more affected by food insecurity than any other. Four of the six largest conflict-driven food crises are found here: in Nigeria, the DRC, Sudan, and South Sudan. Nigeria has seen the largest increase in GHI score of any country in the world. The food security situation is also alarming in Somalia, Madagascar, Burundi, and Chad. Uganda, Togo, and Sierra Leone, on the other hand, have made further progress. In January 2025, African states agreed in Kampala on closer cooperation to strengthen the resilience of food systems. The situation in South Asia also remains serious (GHI 23.5). In many countries, progress has stagnated in recent years. In two countries, and Pakistan, the situation has deteriorated compared to 2018. Remarkable progress has been made in Nepal, while the situation in Bangladesh and India is also improving. In West Asia and North Africa, the hunger threat remains moderate, though the GHI score has deteriorated slightly. In Yemen, the hunger situation is provisionally classified as alarming, with data gaps preventing a complete calculation of the GHI. In the Gaza Strip, the nutritional situation of children in urban areas has deteriorated more sharply than anywhere else in the world. Both Yemen and Gaza are suffering severely from the consequences of war. Syria and Lebanon are also affected by the impacts of armed conflict, and the GHI score has deteriorated in both countries. Significant progress, on the other hand, is visible in Egypt, Iran, Iraq, and Oman. Latin America, the Caribbean, East Asia, and Southeast Asia as a whole have low levels of hunger. Many countries in these regions have made further progress. In Haiti, however, the situation has deteriorated; the GHI score of 34.4 is the highest in the region. The data situation for North Korea remains poor; the hunger level is estimated as serious. There have also been setbacks in the Pacific region: Timor-Leste has the highest hunger level in Southeast Asia (serious). One particular problem in some countries and regions is the availability of data. In places where the food situation is especially critical, there is sometimes a lack of reliable data for accurately calculating the GHI, for example, because reporting systems have collapsed, but also due to insufficient funding. This currently affects the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Burundi, Lesotho, Sudan, South Sudan, and Yemen in particular. There is a risk of a spiral of political neglect of food problems. Where there is no information, there is no attention; and where there is no attention, there is a risk that necessary help will not be provided. Outlook: Security is Indivisible Food security is closely intertwined with security in a broader sense — with peace, good governance, resilience of food systems, and the structures for delivering humanitarian assistance. The positive development of countries such as Nepal, Togo, and Uganda shows that progress in overcoming hunger remains possible even in a time of globally acting crises. The solutions to the problem of food insecurity are known; the major gains in improving food security worldwide in the first two decades of this century have shown that these approaches work. Targeted policies and sustainable investments can help consolidate economic and political stability, improve food security, and thus return to the path of progress that was walked so successfully for so long. To achieve this, food security must be recognized and embedded as a component of broader security policy. Adequate availability of food—and the right to food—is a central prerequisite for political stability. Investments in resilient food systems are strategic security investments. Resilient regional food systems reduce dependence on world market prices and stabilize societies against the impacts of international crises. The prevention and resolution of armed conflicts require a greater degree of diplomatic engagement on the part of governments and international organizations. The international community must push more forcefully for rapid, unimpeded access to humanitarian assistance. The deliberate starvation of civilians is a war crime. Judicial authorities must identify those responsible and prosecute them. Governments must reverse cuts to funding for promoting food security and ensuring humanitarian assistance. A secure financial foundation is indispensable for the prevention and management of crises. This also applies to the collection of data on food security. Hunger is a human-made problem. We can also solve it. The prerequisite is that policymakers live up to their responsibilities. How is the Global Hunger Index Calculated? The countries analyzed can be categorized according to whether their hunger level is low, moderate, serious, alarming or extremely alarming. The higher the value, the higher the severity of hunger in the country. The 4 Indicators of the Global Hunger Index • Undernourishment: the proportion of the population whose caloric needs are not met. • Child stunting: the proportion of children under five years of age who are too short for their age, evidence of chronic undernourishment. • Child wasting: the proportion of children under five years of age weighing too little in relation to their respective heights, evidence of acute undernourishment. • Child mortality: the proportion of children who die before their fifth birthday, reflecting in part the fatal interaction of inadequate nutrition and an unhealthy environment. Where data on indicators is insufficient for a country or territory, the severity of hunger is provisionally estimated on the basis of other published data. For the 2026 Global Hunger Index, this was the case for eight countries. For a further six countries, even a provisional estimation was not possible. The Global Hunger Index is jointly published by Welthungerhilfe (WHH), the Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict (IFHV) and Helvetas.