India Helps Drive Global Hunger Decline as Africa and Western Asia Fall Behind

Hunger Falls Worldwide, but Progress Is Uneven

An estimated 672 million people, or 8.2 percent of the world's population, faced undernourishment in 2024, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and its partner agencies. That was 15 million fewer than in the previous year, marking a third consecutive year of improvement. India contributed heavily to the decline, with an estimated 19.4 million fewer people experiencing undernourishment in 2024 alone.

India's number of undernourished people fell from 197 million to 149.9 million over two years, a reduction of almost 25 percent. Across Asia, hunger became less common, while Latin America and the Caribbean also recorded gains. Africa and Western Asia moved in the opposite direction, with conflict, economic pressures and extreme weather leaving more people struggling to eat enough.

The findings appear in The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2025, known as SOFI. The FAO produces the annual assessment with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), UNICEF, the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The 2025 edition was released in Addis Ababa during the UN Food Summit.

SOFI tracks hunger, food security and nutrition, including progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 2, the United Nations' Zero Hunger target for 2030. Undernourishment means people regularly lack enough food energy to meet their needs. Nutrition also concerns the quality and variety of what they eat, which helps explain why falling hunger can coexist with vitamin deficiencies, poor child growth and rising obesity.

The latest figures show how much work remains. At the current pace, at least 512 million people, most of them in Africa, are projected to remain undernourished at the end of the decade.

India's Scale Makes Its Progress Matter Worldwide

India, home to nearly a fifth of the world's population, has an outsized influence on global hunger figures. Its reduction of almost 47 million undernourished people over two years represents a substantial share of the worldwide improvement.

The country's reduction of 19.4 million in 2024 is described as accounting for nearly half of Asia's total improvement. Other countries in South and Southeast Asia also made gains, although India's scale and speed stood out.

Asia's prevalence of undernourishment fell from 7.9 percent in 2022 to 6.7 percent in 2024, when about 323 million people in the region were undernourished. Excluding India, Asia still recorded 4.4 million fewer hungry people in 2024, despite worsening conditions in the Middle East.

India's progress therefore matters at two levels. Millions of households have moved out of undernourishment, while the country's population size means those gains also help lower the global total. Rising hunger elsewhere has offset part of that improvement.

Food Support, Agriculture and Nutrition Programmes

India's gains are linked to a combination of government policies, economic growth and targeted interventions. The Public Distribution System (PDS) and the National Food Security Act have provided subsidized grain to hundreds of millions of people, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Investments in crop yields, irrigation and rural infrastructure have supported food production and farmer incomes. India's ability to maintain food supplies and social protection during economic and climate shocks has also helped prevent families from slipping back into hunger.

Nutrition and health programmes address another part of the problem. The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and school meal programmes, including the mid-day meal scheme, target child malnutrition and seek to improve dietary diversity. Dietary diversity means eating a range of foods that together supply the nutrients the body needs.

These measures address different household needs: access to staple grain, income from farming and better nutrition for children. Maintaining that support during a crisis matters because a disrupted harvest or lost income can quickly affect what a family can afford to eat.

Odisha Connects Farming With Climate Resilience

The GEF 7 FOLUR Impact Program in Odisha illustrates India's efforts to connect sustainable agriculture with resilience to climate pressures and improved market access for farmers. Its focus brings food production together with the conditions that help farmers maintain their livelihoods.

Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, Deputy Chief Minister of Odisha, said the programme aligns with the state's vision for its future:

sustainable, more resilient, and food- and nutrition-secure future.

Access to markets matters alongside the harvest itself. Farmers need opportunities to sell what they grow, while agricultural practices and water management affect their ability to cope with difficult weather. The Odisha programme sits within the wider effort to make food supplies and rural incomes more dependable.

Africa and Western Asia Face Rising Hunger

Africa's hunger rate surpassed 20 percent in 2024, affecting 307 million people. Western Asia's rate reached 12.7 percent, with more than 39 million people experiencing hunger. Conflict, economic shocks, climate extremes and forced displacement are putting pressure on both regions.

Latin America and the Caribbean recorded a different trend. The region's prevalence of undernourishment fell to 5.15 percent in 2024, down from a peak of 6.1 percent in 2020. Those gains remain vulnerable to economic downturns and climate events.

FAO Director-General QU Dongyu called for stronger action, particularly where hunger remains entrenched:

We must intensify our efforts to ensure everyone has access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food, especially in regions where hunger remains persistent.

The regional figures explain why the global decline offers only a partial picture. Improving conditions across much of Asia and Latin America have reduced the worldwide total, while families in parts of Africa and the Middle East face worsening access to food.

Conflict and Displacement Deepen Food Crises

The FAO and WFP's Hunger Hotspots report identifies overlapping pressures behind worsening food emergencies. Wars and instability in Sudan, the Gaza Strip, South Sudan, Haiti and Mali have displaced millions of people and disrupted food systems.

Economic shocks make those disruptions harder to withstand. High inflation, currency devaluation and rising food prices reduce purchasing power, especially in countries with low incomes. A household whose earnings buy less food may have to reduce both the amount and variety it eats.

Droughts, floods and other extreme weather events, often linked to El Niño, have damaged crops and livelihoods. Nearly 95 million forcibly displaced people now live in countries facing food crises, adding to the need for assistance.

More than 295 million people faced acute hunger in 2024, almost 14 million more than the previous year. Acute food insecurity describes situations in which people urgently lack adequate food and may need immediate help. In fragile regions, overlapping shocks have pushed acute food insecurity and child malnutrition to record highs.

Food Prices and Harvests Tell Different Stories

The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks international prices of major food commodities, fluctuated through 2024 and 2025. In June 2025, it was 5.8 percent higher than a year earlier, although it remained below its 2022 peak.

Cereal and sugar prices generally fell, while increases in dairy products, meat and vegetable oils offset those declines. Families therefore faced different pressures depending on the foods they needed to buy.

Global cereal production was forecast to reach a record, with improved prospects for wheat, maize and rice. Strong harvests in India, Bangladesh and Vietnam contributed to that outlook. The FAO also projected an increase in global cereal stocks, suggesting a relatively comfortable supply position.

Adverse weather, trade tensions and disruptions to supply chains remained risks. Regional differences also persisted: plentiful global supplies can exist alongside local shortages or prices that households cannot afford. Food security depends on production, distribution and people's ability to pay.

A Healthy Diet Remains Beyond Billions of People

The number of people unable to afford a healthy diet fell from 2.76 billion in 2019 to 2.60 billion in 2024. The improvement was uneven, with the poorest countries moving in the opposite direction.

In countries with low incomes, the cost of a healthy diet rose sharply. The number of people unable to afford one increased from 464 million in 2019 to 545 million in 2024. Food price inflation, which peaked at 13.6 percent in early 2023, hit the poorest households hardest.

A healthy diet supplies enough energy and the variety of nutrients needed for growth and health. A family may be able to buy filling staple foods while struggling to afford a sufficiently varied diet, leaving nutritional needs unmet.

UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell warned about the risks for children as food becomes more expensive:

Rising food prices could deepen nutrition insecurity for millions of families, especially the world's youngest and most vulnerable children.

The affordability figures place India's and Asia's hunger reductions in a wider context. Access to enough calories is one measure of progress; access to nourishing food is another. Both matter for families' health.

Child Growth Improves as Other Nutrition Problems Rise

Global child stunting declined from 26.4 percent in 2012 to 23.2 percent in 2024 among children younger than five. Stunting means a child is too short for their age and reflects longer lasting nutritional and health difficulties. Child wasting, which means being too thin for one's height, has also declined.

Exclusive breastfeeding among infants younger than six months increased from 37 percent in 2012 to 47.8 percent in 2023. At the same time, adult obesity rose from 12.1 percent in 2012 to 15.8 percent in 2022, particularly in regions with high incomes. The world faces both undernutrition and rising obesity.

Micronutrient deficiencies, sometimes called hidden hunger, remain widespread. These occur when diets lack enough essential vitamins or minerals. Anaemia among women aged 15 to 49 increased from 27.6 percent in 2012 to 30.7 percent in 2023.

Only about one third of children aged 6 to 23 months and two thirds of women aged 15 to 49 met minimum dietary diversity. Those figures show why nutrition programmes must consider what people eat as well as how much.

India faces that same challenge. Child stunting and wasting have declined but remain high by global standards. ICDS and school meal programmes are helping, while greater dietary diversity, micronutrient supplementation and nutrition education remain priorities for addressing persistent gaps.

The 2030 Target Requires Faster Action

The projection of at least 512 million undernourished people in 2030 leaves the world far from Zero Hunger. The FAO and its partners call for action guided by evidence, investment in local food systems and integrated nutrition services that address immediate needs and longer lasting vulnerabilities.

IFAD President Alvaro Lario linked rural investment to food security and stability:

Investments in rural and agricultural transformation are essential for food and nutrition security and global stability.

The World Bank and other international organizations support combining immediate assistance, including social protection and emergency food aid, with investment in agricultural productivity, farming adapted to climate pressures and supply chains able to withstand disruption.

The sequence of recent developments shows both the response and the remaining gap:

• 2022: The Global Alliance for Food Security was launched to coordinate policy and financial responses.
• Early 2023: Food price inflation peaked at 13.6 percent.
• 2024: Global undernourishment fell to 8.2 percent, while acute hunger affected more than 295 million people.
• 2025: The SOFI assessment documented uneven progress and the continuing shortfall against the 2030 goal.
• 2030: At the current pace, at least 512 million people are projected to remain undernourished, most of them in Africa.

Funding cuts threaten to reverse recent gains. Governments and international agencies face the task of sustaining emergency support while also financing the changes that can make households less vulnerable to the next crisis.

Where Investment Can Reach Families

Projects in India and China show how rehabilitating degraded land can raise productivity and support food security. Restoring land that has become less productive can help farming communities make better use of the resources available to them.

Sustainable farming, crop diversification and better water management are priorities, especially in places exposed to climate extremes. Rural roads, storage facilities and better access to markets can reduce food losses and improve incomes for smallholders.

Social protection and nutrition programmes provide another layer of support. Expanding these services can help vulnerable households absorb price increases, lost income or disrupted harvests. Secure land rights, access to credit and targeted assistance for women and small farmers can also support broader improvements in rural livelihoods.

India's experience shows how targeted policies, agricultural investment and continuity of support during shocks can contribute to rapid reductions in hunger. The worsening figures in Africa and Western Asia show why action must also address conflict, displacement and economic instability.

Governments, international organizations and local communities have connected responsibilities: meet urgent food needs, make agriculture more dependable and help people afford healthy diets. Food security affects health and livelihoods, while also supporting peace, stability and sustainable development.

Key Points

• Global hunger fell to 8.2 percent in 2024, affecting about 672 million people, 15 million fewer than a year earlier.
• India recorded 19.4 million fewer undernourished people in 2024 and a decline from 197 million to 149.9 million over two years.
• Asia and Latin America improved, while hunger rose in Africa and Western Asia.
• Africa had 307 million undernourished people; Western Asia had more than 39 million.
• More than 295 million people faced acute hunger in 2024, almost 14 million more than in 2023.
• A healthy diet remained unaffordable for 2.60 billion people in 2024, with conditions worsening in countries with low incomes.
• Child growth and breastfeeding measures improved, while adult obesity and anaemia among women increased.
• At least 512 million people are projected to remain undernourished in 2030 at the current pace, most of them in Africa.
• Priorities include emergency assistance, social protection, sustainable agriculture, rural infrastructure and stronger nutrition services.