An estimated 645 million people worldwide faced hunger in 2025, while approximately 2.1 billion experienced moderate or severe food insecurity, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The latest figures reveal gradual global improvement but highlight the enormous challenge of ensuring that everyone has access to sufficient, nutritious food.

The FAO’s Hunger and Food Insecurity Maps 2026 provide an interactive overview of food security conditions across countries and regions. The maps accompany the 2026 edition of The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI), helping policymakers, researchers and the public understand where hunger remains most widespread and how conditions are changing.

Although the latest estimates indicate progress, millions of families continue to face difficulties obtaining enough food. Poverty, economic inequality, conflict, climate-related disruptions and the high cost of nutritious diets remain important barriers to achieving global food security.

Global Hunger Declines for the Third Consecutive Year

The FAO estimates that 7.8% of the world’s population experienced hunger in 2025, down from 8.1% in 2024 and 8.6% in 2022.

Approximately 645 million people faced hunger in 2025, representing nearly 14 million fewer people than in 2024 and around 43 million fewer than in 2022.

This decline indicates that sustained efforts to improve food availability and access can produce measurable results.

However, the pace of improvement remains insufficient to guarantee the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of ending hunger by 2030.

The figures also demonstrate why global averages must be examined alongside regional and national data. Progress in one part of the world can coexist with severe food shortages elsewhere.

The FAO’s interactive maps allow users to explore these differences and examine how hunger and food insecurity vary across geographical areas.

More Than Two Billion People Face Food Insecurity

Hunger represents only one part of the wider global food security challenge.

According to the FAO, approximately 2.1 billion people, equivalent to 25.8% of the global population, experienced moderate or severe food insecurity in 2025. This was nearly 86 million fewer people than in 2024.

Food insecurity describes a situation in which people cannot reliably obtain sufficient, safe and nutritious food.

Those experiencing moderate food insecurity may have to reduce the quality or variety of their diets, while people facing severe food insecurity may run out of food or go without eating.

These experiences can affect physical health, educational outcomes, productivity and overall well-being.

The distinction between hunger and food insecurity is important. A person may experience difficulty obtaining a balanced diet even when they are not classified as chronically undernourished.

Consequently, reducing hunger requires policies that improve not only food production but also affordability, distribution and household purchasing power.

Africa Continues to Face the Greatest Regional Challenge

The FAO’s estimates show that hunger remains particularly widespread in Africa.

Approximately 309 million people on the continent faced hunger in 2025, compared with 292 million in Asia and 32 million in Latin America and the Caribbean. In population terms, hunger affected approximately 20% of Africa’s population, 6% of Asia’s population and 4.8% of the population of Latin America and the Caribbean.

These figures underline the substantial differences in food security across regions.

Africa’s food systems face overlapping challenges, including economic pressures, climate-related risks, inadequate infrastructure and conflict in some areas.

Limited access to agricultural financing, irrigation, storage facilities and reliable transport can also make food production and distribution more expensive.

Nevertheless, the latest figures contain an encouraging development: the prolonged upward trend in hunger in Africa has begun to stabilise.

The proportion of the continent’s population experiencing hunger declined from 20.3% in 2024 to 20.0% in 2025. However, the number of people affected remains exceptionally high.

Sustained investment and targeted support will be necessary to turn this improvement into lasting progress.

Asia and Latin America Show Signs of Improvement

Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean have recorded improvements in recent years, according to the FAO’s latest assessment.

In Asia, approximately 292 million people experienced hunger in 2025, while the regional prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity stood at 20.3%.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, around 32 million people faced hunger, and 22.9% of the population experienced moderate or severe food insecurity.

These figures illustrate why policymakers need to examine multiple indicators rather than relying on a single measure.

The number of people experiencing hunger, the proportion of the population affected and the broader prevalence of food insecurity measure related but different aspects of the problem.

Improving food security requires continued attention to rural livelihoods, employment, food prices, agricultural productivity and access to nutritious diets.

Why the Cost of Nutritious Food Matters

Having enough calories does not necessarily mean that a person has access to a healthy diet.

Nutritious foods, including fruits, vegetables, pulses and other protein-rich products, can remain unaffordable for households with limited incomes.

The 2026 SOFI report examines the economic barriers that prevent people from obtaining healthy diets.

Food prices are influenced by multiple stages of the supply chain, including agricultural production, storage, processing, transportation and retail distribution.

Inadequate cold-storage facilities, unreliable electricity, inefficient logistics and high input costs can increase the final price consumers pay.

Economic pressures can make the situation more difficult by reducing the amount households can spend on food.

When nutritious products become unaffordable, families may rely more heavily on cheaper alternatives with lower nutritional value.

Addressing food insecurity therefore requires more than increasing agricultural output. Governments must also consider how food reaches markets and whether households can afford the products available to them.

Climate Change and Conflict Threaten Food Supplies

Food security depends on stable agricultural production and reliable distribution networks.

Droughts, floods, extreme temperatures and irregular rainfall can damage crops, reduce livestock productivity and disrupt harvests.

Climate-related shocks may also increase production costs and create uncertainty for farmers who depend on seasonal rainfall.

Conflict presents additional challenges by displacing farming communities, damaging infrastructure and restricting access to markets.

In some circumstances, food supplies may be available nationally while particular communities remain unable to obtain them because of insecurity, damaged transport routes or economic hardship.

These interconnected pressures demonstrate the importance of building resilient food systems.

Investments in irrigation, climate-resilient agricultural practices, early-warning systems and improved storage can help communities manage risks more effectively.

Humanitarian assistance remains essential where people face immediate threats to their food supplies.

Long-term improvements, however, also require economic development, effective institutions and sustained support for agricultural communities.

What the FAO Hunger Maps Reveal

The FAO’s interactive Hunger and Food Insecurity Maps 2026 provide a way to examine the latest estimates beyond global totals.

Users can explore data for different geographical regions and countries and examine two important Sustainable Development Goal indicators:

• Prevalence of undernourishment: An estimate of the proportion of the population experiencing chronic hunger.
• Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity: A measure of the proportion of people whose access to food is constrained, based on their reported experiences.

The two indicators offer complementary perspectives on global food security.

Undernourishment focuses on the inability to obtain sufficient dietary energy over time, while the food insecurity indicator captures a broader range of difficulties in accessing food.

Examining both measures can help policymakers identify vulnerable populations and develop responses suited to local circumstances.

Explore the official maps:

What Governments Can Do to Reduce Hunger

The latest estimates highlight several priorities for governments and development organisations.

Strengthening agricultural production: Farmers need access to quality seeds, appropriate technology, agricultural advice and dependable water supplies.

Improving rural infrastructure: Better roads, storage facilities and cold chains can reduce food losses and help connect producers with consumers.

Supporting vulnerable households: Targeted social protection programmes can help low-income families maintain access to essential food during economic shocks.

Making healthy diets affordable: Policies that improve distribution efficiency and reduce avoidable supply-chain costs can help nutritious food reach consumers at more affordable prices.

Building resilience: Climate adaptation, early-warning systems and improved disaster preparedness can help communities protect agricultural production and food supplies.

The FAO has emphasised the importance of combining effective economic policies, social protection and sustained investment in more efficient, inclusive and resilient agrifood systems.

The World Remains Off Track to End Hunger by 2030

Despite the recent decline, the world is not yet on course to eliminate hunger by the end of the decade.

The FAO projects that approximately 520 million people could still face hunger in 2030 if current trends continue. This projection highlights the scale of the remaining challenge and the need to accelerate progress.

Achieving the global goal will require sustained cooperation among governments, international organisations, farmers, businesses and local communities.

Food systems must become more productive and resilient while ensuring that the benefits of agricultural development reach vulnerable populations.

Better data will also be essential. Reliable statistics can help decision-makers identify emerging problems, evaluate existing programmes and direct resources towards communities facing the greatest difficulties.

The FAO’s 2026 maps provide an important resource for understanding these challenges and tracking progress towards the goal of Zero Hunger.

Conclusion

The FAO’s latest estimates reveal a mixed picture of global food security. Hunger declined for the third consecutive year in 2025, and millions fewer people experienced food insecurity compared with the previous year.

Yet approximately 645 million people still faced hunger, while 2.1 billion experienced moderate or severe food insecurity.

Regional inequalities remain substantial, and the affordability of nutritious food continues to be a major concern.

The findings demonstrate that progress is possible, but it cannot be taken for granted. Governments and international partners must strengthen agricultural systems, improve food distribution, protect vulnerable households and make healthy diets more accessible.

The FAO Hunger and Food Insecurity Maps 2026 offer an important tool for understanding where progress is being made and where additional action is needed.

Ultimately, achieving a world without hunger will depend on ensuring that everyone can obtain sufficient, safe and nutritious food, regardless of where they live or how much they earn.