Global hunger declined for the third consecutive year in 2025, according to The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) 2026 report released by five United Nations agencies. The report estimates that 7.8% of the world’s population, or approximately 645 million people, experienced hunger in 2025, down from 8.1% in 2024 and 8.6% in 2022, reflecting gradual progress toward improving global food security.
Despite the overall decline, the report warns that progress remains uneven across regions. Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean have recorded steady improvements, while Africa continues to face the highest burden of hunger, with around 309 million people affected. More than half of Africa’s population experienced moderate or severe food insecurity in 2025, highlighting persistent regional disparities driven by population growth, climate challenges, and limited access to food.
The report also found that around 2.1 billion people faced moderate or severe food insecurity in 2025, although this represents a significant improvement compared to previous years. Women and rural communities continue to be disproportionately affected, while ongoing conflicts, extreme weather events, and declining humanitarian funding threaten to slow further progress.
Nutrition challenges also remain a major concern. The report notes only limited improvements in child stunting, wasting, and breastfeeding rates, while obesity among adults continues to rise globally. Additionally, nearly 2.7 billion people still cannot afford a healthy diet, with affordability challenges particularly severe across Africa despite gradual global improvements.
The report emphasizes that achieving the Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger by 2030 will require greater investment in resilient food systems, stronger agricultural infrastructure, improved food value chains, and policies that make nutritious diets more affordable. The five UN agencies called for sustained international cooperation to address hunger, strengthen food security, and protect vulnerable populations from future economic, climate, and conflict-related shocks.
