Rome: Global hunger declined for the third consecutive year in 2025, but progress remains fragile and uneven, leaving the world off track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger by 2030, according to the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2026 (SOFI 2026) report.
Released by five United Nations specialised agencies, the report found that 7.8 per cent of the world’s population experienced hunger in 2025, down from 8.1 per cent in 2024 and 8.6 per cent in 2022.
The report estimates that 645 million people suffered from hunger in 2025, representing 14 million fewer people than in 2024 and 43 million fewer than in 2022, reflecting gradual but sustained global improvement.
Despite the overall decline, the report noted that progress varies significantly across regions. Africa is now home to approximately 309 million people experiencing hunger, surpassing Asia’s 292 million, largely due to rapid population growth. Although Africa’s hunger rate declined slightly from 20.3 per cent in 2024 to 20.0 per cent in 2025, it remains the region with the highest number of hungry people.
The report also found that 2.1 billion people, or 25.8 per cent of the global population, experienced moderate or severe food insecurity in 2025. While this marks an improvement from previous years, the figure remains higher than pre-pandemic levels.
The UN agencies warned that progress in maternal and child nutrition continues to fall short of international targets. Child stunting, wasting, overweight, low birth weight and exclusive breastfeeding have shown only limited improvement, while anaemia among women has worsened.
Adult obesity also continues to rise globally, increasing from 12.1 per cent in 2012 to 16.2 per cent in 2024. The report added that only 30.8 per cent of children aged six to 23 months receive a minimally diverse diet, while 150 million children under five remain affected by stunting.
The agencies stressed that stronger global action is needed to accelerate progress on food security and nutrition before the 2030 deadline.
