Global hunger declined for the third consecutive year in 2025, with improvements reported across every continent, offering fresh hope in the fight against food insecurity. However, the United Nations has cautioned that the gains remain fragile and could be reversed by escalating climate change, geopolitical conflicts, and disruptions in global trade, according to its latest assessment on global food security.
The report estimates that around 645 million people, or nearly 7.8 per cent of the world’s population, experienced hunger in 2025. This marks a decline from 8.1 per cent in 2024 and 8.6 per cent in 2022, reflecting a gradual but consistent improvement over the past three years. Approximately 14 million fewer people suffered from hunger compared to the previous year, while the total number has fallen by nearly 43 million since 2022. Despite this progress, UN agencies stressed that current trends remain insufficient to meet the Sustainable Development Goal of eliminating hunger by 2030.
The improvement was largely driven by significant gains in Asia, particularly India, where expanded welfare programmes, better agricultural productivity and stronger food distribution systems contributed to reducing hunger levels. Latin America and the Caribbean also recorded notable progress, while several African countries, including Ethiopia and Senegal, began reversing years of worsening food insecurity. Nevertheless, Africa continues to bear the heaviest burden globally, with nearly 309 million undernourished people, equivalent to one in every five residents on the continent.
Although the overall trend is encouraging, UN officials warned that multiple threats continue to endanger global food systems. Climate-related disasters such as prolonged droughts, floods and extreme heat have become more frequent, damaging crops and disrupting agricultural production in many regions. In addition, geopolitical tensions and trade disruptions have increased uncertainty in global food markets. Experts highlighted that any prolonged disruption in critical shipping routes, including the Strait of Hormuz, could significantly affect food supplies by driving up energy and transportation costs, which would eventually translate into higher food prices worldwide.
The report also cautioned that the possible return of El Niño weather conditions could place further pressure on agricultural production by causing erratic rainfall patterns and reducing crop yields in vulnerable regions. Such climatic shocks, combined with volatile global trade conditions, have the potential to reverse the progress achieved over recent years if governments fail to strengthen food systems against future crises.
Beyond hunger, the report points to persistent nutritional challenges affecting billions of people worldwide. Around 2.69 billion people remain unable to afford a healthy diet, with affordability emerging as one of the biggest barriers to proper nutrition. Africa continues to face the greatest challenge, where nearly two-thirds of the population cannot afford nutritious food due to high food prices, poor infrastructure and limited market access. At the same time, child malnutrition and anaemia among women remain widespread in many low-income countries, even as obesity continues to rise among adults across several parts of the world, highlighting the growing burden of unhealthy diets.
According to UN experts, the latest figures demonstrate that targeted government interventions, investments in agriculture and effective social protection measures can deliver measurable improvements in food security. However, they stressed that sustained international cooperation, resilient agricultural systems and uninterrupted global trade will be essential to maintaining this positive trajectory.
The report concludes that while the decline in global hunger is an encouraging milestone, the world remains far from ending food insecurity. Without stronger action to address climate change, reduce conflict-related disruptions and improve access to affordable, nutritious food, millions of people could continue to face chronic hunger in the years ahead, placing the 2030 global hunger target increasingly out of reach.
