Published by five specialized United Nations agencies and released by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report indicates that roughly 8.2 percent of the world’s population—translating to about 673 million people—suffered from chronic hunger in 2024. This figure marks a downward movement from 8.7 percent in 2022 and 8.5 percent in 2023, reflecting a global population range of 638 to 720 million people facing hunger during the year.
Despite the encouraging downward trend in the global average, international leaders caution that progress remains highly uneven and fragile.
"While it is encouraging to see a decrease in the global hunger rate, we must recognize that progress is uneven," said FAO Director-General QU Dongyu in a press statement accompanying the report. "SOFI 2025 serves as a critical reminder that we need to intensify efforts to ensure that everyone has access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food. To achieve this, we must work collaboratively and innovatively with governments, organizations, and communities to address the specific challenges faced by vulnerable populations, especially in regions where hunger remains persistent."
The report highlights stark geographic disparities in how global food security is evolving. In Asia, the number of undernourished people fell significantly to 6.7 percent, down from 7.9 percent two years earlier. The Caribbean and Latin America also recorded encouraging improvements, with undernourishment dropping to 5.1 percent of the population—representing roughly 34 million people—in 2024, continuing a downward trajectory following a regional peak of 6.1 percent in 2020.
These positive regional trends, however, contrast sharply with worsening conditions elsewhere. The FAO report points out that hunger has continued a steady rise across Africa and western Asia, heavily impacting regions dealing with prolonged food crises, economic instability, and environmental shocks. The proportion of the population facing hunger in Africa surpassed 20 percent in 2024, directly affecting 307 million people. Meanwhile, in western Asia, an estimated 12.7 percent of the population, or more than 39 million people, faced chronic hunger over the same period.
Beyond severe hunger, broader measures of food insecurity also showed slight shifts. Those experiencing constraints on adequate food access for even part of the year—classified by researchers as "moderate or severe food insecurity"—decreased to 28 percent of the global population in 2024. This equates to approximately 2.3 billion people worldwide, dropping slightly from 28.4 percent in 2023.
Public health officials emphasize that while certain nutritional indicators have improved, millions still face devastating hurdles.
"In recent years, the world has made good progress in reducing stunting and supporting exclusive breastfeeding, but there is still much to be done to relieve millions of people from the burdens of food insecurity and malnutrition," said World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Looking toward the end of the decade, the outlook remains challenging. Projections within the report estimate that as many as 512 million people could still experience chronic undernourishment by 2030, with nearly 60 percent of those individuals residing in Africa. The bleak forecast was underscored by representatives from the FAO, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the UN World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations children’s agency (UNICEF), and the WHO. Together, these agencies noted that the current trajectories highlight the enormous structural challenges remaining on the path to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger.
The new report takes a detailed look at the lingering economic consequences of the severe food price surge experienced between 2021 and 2023. Researchers analyzed how food price inflation—fueled by a complex combination of global policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, the economic disruptions stemming from Russia’s war in Ukraine, and increasingly severe extreme weather events across the globe—has severely hindered the post-pandemic recovery of global nutrition and food security.
Low-income nations have borne the heaviest burden of these escalating costs. According to the data, while median global food price inflation rose from a modest 2.3 percent in December 2020 to 13.6 percent in early 2023, the crisis was far worse in vulnerable economies. In low-income countries, food price inflation climbed much higher, reaching a devastating peak of 30 percent in May 2023.
These soaring costs have directly impacted families’ ability to purchase nutritious food. On a global scale, the number of people unable to afford a healthy diet fell slightly to 2.6 billion last year, down from 2.76 billion in 2019. However, this global average masks a stark deterioration in poorer regions.
In low-income countries, the number of individuals who could not afford a healthy diet rose to 545 million last year, a steep increase from 464 million five years earlier. This means that roughly 72 percent of the population in low-income nations was priced out of basic, healthy nutrition in 2024. Similarly, in lower-middle-income nations excluding India, the population unable to afford healthy meals increased from 791 million to 869 million over the same five-year period.
International financial and agricultural leaders argue that addressing these systemic gaps requires immediate, targeted intervention and increased funding for local agricultural sectors.
"In times of rising food prices and disrupted global value chains, we must step up our investments in rural and agricultural transformation," said IFAD President Alvaro Lario. "These investments are not only essential for ensuring food and nutrition security—they are also critical for global stability."
To combat these pressures, the report outlines a comprehensive set of policy responses. Recommendations include implementing transparent and credible monetary policies designed to contain inflationary pressures, deploying time-bound and targeted fiscal measures—such as robust social protection programs—to shield vulnerable households from market shocks, and making strategic investments in agrifood research and development. Additionally, the report emphasizes the need for improved market information systems to boost resilience and productivity, alongside vital upgrades to rural transportation and production infrastructure.
The human cost of these macroeconomic challenges is perhaps most visible among the world’s youngest populations. UNICEF executive leadership stressed that the global community must prioritize children to prevent lifelong developmental deficits caused by poor nutrition.
"Every child deserves the chance to grow and thrive. Yet over 190 million children under the age of 5 are affected by undernutrition, which can have negative consequences for their physical and mental development. This robs them of the chance to live to their fullest potential," said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.
Russell added that protecting vulnerable children requires multi-sectoral cooperation involving governments, private industry, and local communities to secure reliable access to affordable, nutrient-rich foods. This work involves strengthening existing social safety nets and educating parents on utilizing locally produced nutritious foods, while emphasizing the foundational role of exclusive breastfeeding in giving infants the healthiest start in life.
