Far too many! Luckily the number is falling.

A child dies from hunger every 10 seconds

Poor nutrition and hunger is responsible for the death of 3.1 million children a year. That’s nearly half of all deaths in children under the age of 5. The children die because their bodies lack basic nutrients.

Globally, 822 million people suffer from undernourishment.

Hunger statistics show progress. But it’s fading.

The number of people affected by hunger has decreased by 189 million people since 1990. But in recent years the positive development has stopped. Since 2015, we have seen an increase in hungry people globally every year.

1990: 1011 million

1995: 989 million

2000: 900 million

2005: 945 million

2010: 821 million

2015: 784 million

2016: 804 million

2017: 821 million

2018: 822 million

It will be a huge challenge to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger by 2030.

1 in 9 people go to bed hungry

The decrease in the number of people affected by hunger has happened in a period where the world population has increased by 2.2 billion - from 5,3 billion in 1990 to 7.5 billion in 2018. The share of undernourished people in the world has therefore fallen markedly in the past three decades. From 19% in 1990 to 10.8% in 2018.

But again, the positive development has faded in recent years and even reversed.

Share of undernourished people in the world:

1990: 19.0%

2000: 14.5%

2010: 11.8%

2015: 10.6%

2016: 10.7%

2017: 10.8%

2018: 10.8%

The number of people affected by hunger is highest on the African continent where 20% of the population don’t get enough to eat. In parts of eastern and southern Africa, the number is over 30%

In Sub-Saharan Africa, 1 in 3 children experience stunted growth because they don’t get enough food or vitamins. Besides a number of  health issues, stunted growth also affects the childrens’ cognitive abilities.

Acute hunger

Of the 822 million undernourished people in the world, 113 million face acute hunger meaning they are in urgent need of food and nutrients.

Climate change will increase food insecurity

24% of the world population live in areas of food insecurity. 9% in areas of severe food insecurity. These numbers could very well go up as climate change will increasingly affect global food systems. Falling food production is a likely consequence of higher CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere, higher temperatures and increased water scarcity.

“For the world’s hungry and undernourished people, climate change is an increasingly relevant threat multiplier”.

- Global Hunger Index.

Climate change needs to be controlled to avoid increased hunger and undernutrition in the future.

Climate change already causing hunger

In 2017, over 20 million people in the African countries of Ethiopia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, and Kenya experienced acute food insecurity as a consequence of climate change.

While 822 million people suffer from undernourishment, about a third of all food for human consumption is lost or wasted.