Global Hunger

In 2022, chronic hunger, as measured by not consuming enough calories to lead an active and healthy life, affected about 9.2 percent of the global population—nearly 1 in every 10 people. This is far higher than the rate in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, which was 7.9 percent.

This means about 735 million confronted hunger in 2022. The pandemic forced an estimated additional 122 million people around the world into hunger.

Researchers estimate that in 2022, nearly 3.1 billion of the world’s 8 billion people will be unable to afford a healthy diet. This number is likely to have increased since then because global food prices surged when Russia invaded Ukraine.

Food insecurity takes into account a person’s access to safe, nutritious, and affordable foods—not just calories. There are significant regional disparities in food insecurity rates. In 2022, more than 1 in 2 people were food insecure in sub-Saharan Africa, while nearly 1 in 3 people were food insecure in Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean.