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Global Hunger Index
What do we know about the hunger situation worldwide? Has progress been made or are there any setbacks? Using the Global Hunger Index, the global hunger situation can be calculated and assessed.
The Global Hunger Index (GHI) measures and compares the extent of various hunger indicators such as undernourishment and child mortality each year—worldwide, across regions, and in individual countries. Welthungerhilfe (WHH) releases the index annually with global, regional, and national figures. It aims to draw greater attention to the commitment to end hunger, to show in which regions of the world additional resources are most urgently needed, and to provide recommendations for action to eradicate hunger.
Global Hunger Index 2025: No progress in times of crisis
Progress has stalled—efforts to overcome hunger, which have been so successful in recent decades, are now yielding little improvement at a time of escalating crises. For all four indicators that make up the Index—undernourishment, child stunting, child wasting, and child mortality—progress remains below international targets. The global GHI score for 2025 stands at 18.3, which represents hardly any improvement compared to the last methodologically comparable score from 2016, 19.0. (Lower scores indicate less hunger, higher scores indicate more hunger.) In 27 countries, hunger has increased again since 2016.
At present, national GHI scores classify the hunger situation in seven countries as “alarming”: Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Yemen, Madagascar, Somalia, and South Sudan. In another 35 countries, the situation is considered “serious.”
The Zero Hunger by 2030 goal is in jeopardy. If the pace of progress remains as slow as it currently is, 56 countries will not achieve the reduction of hunger to “low” levels by 2030.
The reasons for these alarming developments lie in the intensification of a series of overlapping crises that reinforce each other. Armed conflicts, such as those in Gaza and Sudan, are currently the biggest drivers of hunger. They are often both a consequence and a cause of economic instability with regional and global repercussions. The effects of the climate crisis add to the problem and continue to threaten regional food systems: 2024 was the hottest year on record. In response to the profound impact of these crises on food security, the international community has not responded with greater commitment to humanitarian aid and development. On the contrary, spending on aid has been sharply cut, while military expenditures continue to rise.
In light of all these challenges, it is particularly noteworthy that in several countries the scores have improved significantly against the overall trend: Mozambique, Rwanda, Somalia, Togo, and Uganda. However, in Mozambique and Somalia, the level of hunger remains alarmingly high despite these improvements.
Hunger is unevenly distributed across regions
The global GHI value of 18.3 represents a moderate threat of hunger. However, this is an average value for the entire planet. When examining individual regions and countries, the situation often appears different.
Sub-Saharan Africa continues to experience the highest levels of hunger, classified as a “serious” threat. Although the situation has improved in 35 of 47 countries since 2000, this progress has stalled since 2016. Somalia, Sudan, and Burundi are the most severely affected.
The situation also remains serious in South Asia. In Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, the situation has deteriorated since 2016, while Bangladesh and Nepal have made significant progress.
Moderate levels of hunger persist in West Asia and North Africa. This is the region that has seen the lowest progress since 2016. Exceptional cases are the catastrophic food security crises in Gaza and Yemen, driven by war.
Latin America, the Caribbean, East Asia, and Southeast Asia have moderate to low levels of hunger. However, the situation in Haiti has deteriorated from serious in 2016 to alarming in 2025. Based on preliminary estimations, the level of hunger in North Korea is considered serious.
One particular problem in some countries and regions is the availability of data. In places where the food situation is especially critical, there is sometimes a lack of reliable data for accurately calculating the GHI, for example, because reporting systems have collapsed. This currently affects the Gaza Strip (where no GHI can be calculated at all), North Korea, Burundi, Sudan, and Yemen in particular. There is a risk of a spiral of political neglect of food problems. Where there is no information, there is no attention; and where there is no attention, there is no help.
Despite all the challenges, targeted policies and sustainable investments can still yield real progress in overcoming hunger. For in the twenty years since the first Global Hunger Index was published, we have made steady progress in developing solutions. This is also evident in the GHI 2025 report.
Where do we stand in overcoming hunger? An interim assessment after twenty years of the Global Hunger Index
The twentieth Global Hunger Index also provides an opportunity to look back on the last two decades of efforts to overcome hunger. Encouraging progress had been made by 2016. When the United Nations' 2030 Agenda came into force that year, the goal of “Zero Hunger by 2030” proclaimed therein seemed within reach. However, what followed was a period of stagnation linked to the worsening of more general crisis symptoms in the global system: a complex set of consequences of climate change; the COVID-19 pandemic; the eruption of violent conflicts that the international system has so far been unable to contain; and economic instability linked to the other crises.
The latest figures, an interactive map and all past GHI reports.
Despite these crises, and in response to them, the international community has gained important insights into how to reduce hunger more effectively. At the beginning of the millennium, development strategies primarily focused on increasing agricultural productivity. Over the years, it has become increasingly clear that this is not enough. If we want to end hunger for good, we must look beyond the boundaries of food systems to societies and national and international politics. Justice, resilience, governance, political leadership, and political responsibility are key concepts in the context of the climate crisis. Strategies must be cross-sectoral and empower people to address risks in a forward-looking manner. If these parameters are not strengthened, all productivity gains are precarious—they may fall victim to the next crisis. However, if political leaders live up to their responsibilities and move from declarations of intent to decisive action, we can still solve the problem of hunger.
How is the Global Hunger Index Calculated?
The countries analyzed can be categorized according to whether their hunger level is extremely alarming, alarming, serious, moderate or low. The higher the value, the higher the severity of hunger in the country.
The 4 Indicators of the Global Hunger Index
- Undernourishment: the proportion of the population whose caloric needs are not met.
- Child stunting: the proportion of children under five years of age who are too short for their age, evidence of chronic undernourishment.
- Child wasting: the proportion of children under five years of age weighing too little in relation to their respective heights, evidence of acute undernourishment.
- Child mortality: the proportion of children who die before their fifth birthday, reflecting in part the fatal interaction of inadequate nutrition and an unhealthy environment.
The report is published jointly by Welthungerhilfe (WHH), the Alliance 2015 partner Concern Worldwide and the Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict at the Ruhr University Bochum.
