Africa surpasses Asia with highest population facing hunger: UN
The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) 2026 report found that Africa now has the highest absolute number of hungry people among world regions, at an estimated 309 million, surpassing Asia's 292 million for the first time.
Global hunger prevalence declined for a third consecutive year: 7.8% of the world's population (about 645 million people) experienced hunger in 2025, down from 8.1% in 2024 and 8.6% in 2022.
Despite the decline in Africa's hunger rate (from 20.3% in 2024 to 20.0% in 2025), rapid population growth means the absolute number of hungry Africans keeps rising, unlike in Asia, where numbers are falling faster than the rate.
Two-thirds of Africans (66.6%) cannot afford a healthy diet — more than double the corresponding share in Asia — highlighting the gap between hunger reduction and food affordability.
Child malnutrition remains a persistent global concern, with 150 million children under five still stunted worldwide.
State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) Report
SOFI is an annual flagship report jointly published by five UN specialized agencies — the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), UNICEF, World Food Programme (WFP), and World Health Organization (WHO). It tracks progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger) using indicators such as the Prevalence of Undernourishment (PoU) and the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES), and is the primary global reference for hunger and malnutrition statistics used in policy-making.
Key Details
- Publishing agencies: FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP, and WHO — a five-agency joint report.
- Core indicators: Prevalence of Undernourishment (PoU) and moderate-to-severe food insecurity (via FIES), both tied to SDG Target 2.1 (end hunger, ensure access to safe and nutritious food).
- 2026 edition data year: figures reported are for 2025, showing global hunger prevalence of 7.8% (approximately 645 million people).
The Africa-overtakes-Asia finding comes directly from the SOFI 2026 report's regional breakdown, making the report itself — its publishing agencies, methodology, and SDG linkage — a testable prelims fact alongside the headline finding.
Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger) and Global Hunger Trends
SDG 2, adopted as part of the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in 2015, aims to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture by 2030. Global hunger levels rose sharply after 2019 due to COVID-19, conflict, and climate shocks, peaked around 2021-2022, and have since declined for three consecutive years, though the world remains off-track to meet the 2030 zero-hunger target.
Key Details
- SDG 2.1 target: by 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people to safe, nutritious, and sufficient food year-round.
- Global hunger prevalence trajectory: 8.6% (2022) to 8.1% (2024) to 7.8% (2025) — third consecutive year of decline, but still above pre-pandemic (2019) levels.
- Regional disparity is now the defining feature of global hunger: Africa's share of the world's hungry has overtaken Asia's despite Asia having a much larger total population.
The report explicitly frames the Africa-Asia crossover as evidence that global averages mask a shifting "center of gravity" of hunger, a key analytical point for Mains answers on uneven progress toward SDG 2.
Food Insecurity versus Undernourishment: Conceptual Distinction
Undernourishment refers to insufficient caloric intake over a sustained period (a chronic, calorie-based measure), while food insecurity (measured via the Food Insecurity Experience Scale) captures a broader lack of regular access to safe, sufficient, and nutritious food, including affordability of a healthy diet. UPSC frequently tests the distinction between hunger/undernourishment and food insecurity/malnutrition, since a country or region can show improving calorie-based hunger figures while food insecurity or diet-affordability indicators worsen.
Key Details
- Undernourishment (PoU): calorie-intake based; used for the primary "hunger" headline number.
- Food insecurity (FIES): access-based, includes moderate and severe categories; Latin America and the Caribbean recorded 22.9% moderate-or-severe food insecurity, and Northern America and Europe 8.7%.
- Related but distinct concept: stunting (low height-for-age in children under five) — 150 million children remain stunted globally per the 2026 report.
The report's finding that 66.6% of Africans cannot afford a healthy diet, despite the region's hunger rate ticking down slightly, illustrates why food insecurity and diet-affordability metrics are tracked separately from the basic undernourishment rate.
- Africa: 309 million people facing hunger (20.0% of population, 2025), down from 20.3% in 2024, but rising in absolute terms due to population growth.
- Asia: 292 million people facing hunger — now second-highest region after Africa.
- Global hunger prevalence: 7.8% (2025) versus 8.1% (2024) and 8.6% (2022) — third straight year of decline.
- 150 million children under five remain stunted; only 30.8% of children aged 6-23 months consume a minimally diverse diet; adult obesity rose from 12.1% (2012) to 16.2% (2024).
- Report jointly published by FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP, and WHO, tied to monitoring SDG 2 (Zero Hunger).