• Global hunger declined to 645 million in 2025, representing 7.8% of the world's population.
• Africa remains the continent with the highest undernourished population, at 309 million.
• Risks from climate change and geopolitical tensions jeopardize further progress in combating hunger.
• 2.69 billion people still cannot afford a healthy diet, with 1.03 billion in Africa alone.
• Moderate or severe food insecurity now affects 2.1 billion people globally.

In 2025, global hunger saw a decline for the third consecutive year, with approximately 645 million people—or 7.8% of the world’s population—experiencing hunger. This marks a decrease from 8.1% in 2024 and 8.6% in 2022, according to a recent report by several United Nations agencies. The positive trend is largely attributed to advancements in Asia, particularly in India, as well as improvements in Latin America and the Caribbean. However, this decline is contrasted by the troubling fact that Africa is now home to the largest number of undernourished individuals in the world, totaling 309 million, or one in five Africans, as highlighted by separate analyses from Reuters, Al Jazeera, and Le Monde.

Despite the overall improvements, hunger levels remain higher than pre-COVID levels from 2019, illustrating the long-lasting impact of the pandemic. The report has projected that while progress continues, the number of undernourished people may only fall by about 20% by 2030. Still, approximately 510 to 520 million people are anticipated to face hunger by the end of the decade, with the majority located in Africa. This situation has been exacerbated by ongoing geopolitical tensions and climate events, especially as the report points to crises, such as the recent US-Israel conflict, which could further undermine food systems, particularly in Africa and Asia, according to Reuters and Al Jazeera.

The report also reveals that affordability of nutritious food poses a significant challenge globally, with 2.69 billion people unable to afford a healthy diet, a figure which has improved from 2.97 billion in 2021. Yet this remains a grave concern, particularly in Africa, where the share of the population unable to afford a nutritious diet has soared to nearly two-thirds, translating to approximately 1.03 billion individuals. In contrast, Asia, despite having the largest number of people unable to afford healthy food, saw a relative decrease in this metric, as reported by Reuters, Al Jazeera, and Le Monde.

The broader issue of food insecurity continues to plague the global population, with 2.1 billion people now classified as experiencing moderate to severe food insecurity, impacting their access to healthy foods and their ability to maintain adequate meal sizes. This represents a decrease from 27.1% in 2024 to 25.8% in 2025. In addition, millions face catastrophic hunger, underscoring the need for urgent action to address these crises and prevent further deterioration of food security worldwide, according to Reuters, Al Jazeera, and Le Monde.