Global hunger declines across continents but climate, trade risks loom, UN says

ROME – Global hunger declined for a third consecutive year in 2025, with improvements recorded across every continent, although mounting risks from climate shocks and trade disruption could threaten further progress, a United Nations report has said.

Around 645 million people, or 7.8 per cent of the world’s population, experienced hunger in 2025, down from 8.1 per cent in 2024 and 8.6 per cent in 2022, according to the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report, jointly prepared by five UN agencies.

Progress was driven largely by gains in Asia, particularly India, as well as Latin America and the Caribbean.

Some African countries also began to reverse years of deterioration, though the continent had the world’s largest undernourished population in 2025, with 309 million people affected, one in five Africans.

Global hunger is projected to keep falling by 2030, according to the UN experts.

“The big difference to previous years is that this year the rate of hunger has declined in all continents, including Africa, although very, very slightly,” Maximo Torero, chief economist at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), said.

Torero said the trend offered grounds for optimism but warned that geopolitical tensions and weather disruptions posed significant threats to global food systems.

Among the most immediate concerns are issues with shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for energy and agricultural inputs. The interruption is driving up prices for fuel, fertilisers and transportation, increasing food production costs worldwide.

A potentially strong El Nino weather pattern could add further pressure by disrupting agricultural production in vulnerable regions.

“We hope the trend won’t change, but there are several risks affecting us right now,” Torero said.

India drives gains

Much of the improvement in Asia has been concentrated in India, home to nearly a fifth of the world’s population, where hunger has fallen below 10 per cent, helped by a combination of targeted welfare programmes and rising agricultural productivity.

Elsewhere, several African countries, including Ethiopia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Senegal and Zambia, have also shown signs of progress, while the Dominican Republic is no longer classified on the global hunger map.

Torero said the war in Gaza has not materially altered the global hunger figures because the report tracks chronic, long-term undernourishment rather than acute food insecurity caused by conflicts or disasters.

Food deliveries into Gaza have increased recently, helping to stabilise conditions, but rebuilding the territory’s devastated agricultural sector will take years, he added.

“Our job is to help re-establish agricultural production because a significant part of the infrastructure for agriculture was destroyed,” Torero said.

Healthy diet elusive

Despite progress against hunger, child malnutrition remains stubbornly high, and anaemia among women is worsening, the report said, highlighting that adult obesity has also risen steadily.

Access to nutritious food remains a major challenge.

The report estimates that 2.69 billion people cannot afford a healthy diet, which it calculated would cost an average of US$4.28 (S$5.50) a day in purchasing-power-parity terms.

The affordability gap was particularly stark in Africa, where 66.1 per cent of the population cannot afford a healthy diet, more than double the levels recorded in Asia and Latin America.

Torero said Africa faces particular challenges because weak infrastructure, limited cold-storage facilities and poor transport networks raise the cost of highly perishable foods such as fruit, vegetables, milk and meat.

The continent is also hindered by fragmented regulations and non-tariff barriers that restrict food trade between neighbouring countries, he added. REUTERS