The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2026

Global hunger has seen a downward trend for the third consecutive year, with a notable reduction in 2025. However, this progress remains precarious, unevenly distributed, and critically insufficient to meet the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the 2030 deadline. This stark reality is detailed in the latest "The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2026" (SOFI 2026) report, a comprehensive analysis jointly released on Tuesday by five leading United Nations specialized agencies.

The report estimates that in 2025, approximately 7.8 percent of the global population, translating to about 645 million individuals, experienced hunger. This figure marks a significant decline from 8.1 percent in 2024 and 8.6 percent in 2022, indicating a sustained, albeit gradual, improvement. The reduction represents nearly 14 million fewer people affected by hunger compared to the previous year and a substantial decrease of 43 million since 2022. This trend, while positive, underscores the immense challenge ahead in eradicating hunger entirely.

Uneven Recovery and Persistent Regional Disparities

Despite the overall global improvement, the recovery from food insecurity is far from uniform across continents and regions. Asia, along with Latin America and the Caribbean, has demonstrated consistent progress in recent years, showing a tangible impact of targeted interventions and policy shifts. In stark contrast, Africa now bears the heaviest burden, hosting approximately 309 million hungry people, surpassing Asia’s 292 million. While Africa’s previously escalating hunger trend appears to be stabilizing, with the proportion of its population facing hunger decreasing from 20.3 percent in 2024 to 20.0 percent in 2025, the continent now grapples with the highest absolute number of food-insecure individuals against a backdrop of a rapidly growing population. This demographic reality amplifies the urgency for sustained and scaled-up interventions.

The broader picture of food access, measured by food insecurity, paints a similar, albeit slightly more optimistic, narrative. In 2025, an estimated 25.8 percent of the global population, equivalent to around 2.1 billion people, experienced moderate or severe food insecurity. This means they were frequently compelled to compromise on the quality or quantity of food consumed, impacting their health and well-being. This figure represents a reduction from 27.1 percent in 2024 and 28.7 percent in 2020, signifying a decrease of nearly 86 million people compared to 2024 and 135 million fewer than in 2020. However, it is crucial to note that these numbers remain higher than pre-pandemic levels, indicating that the long-term effects of global shocks, including the COVID-19 pandemic, continue to reverberate through food systems.

Regional disparities in food insecurity remain stark and deeply concerning. Over half of Africa’s population, precisely 56.6 percent, faced moderate or severe food insecurity in 2025. This is a staggering contrast to Asia, where the figure stands at 20.3 percent, and Latin America and the Caribbean at 22.9 percent. Northern America and Europe reported significantly lower rates, with 8.7 percent experiencing food insecurity. Furthermore, the report highlights persistent inequalities within countries and communities. Food insecurity continues to be more prevalent in rural areas compared to peri-urban and urban settings, reflecting challenges in access to markets, infrastructure, and resources. While women remain disproportionately affected by food insecurity, the gender gap showed a marginal narrowing in 2025, suggesting some positive shifts, though more comprehensive strategies are needed to achieve true gender parity in food security.

Hunger Projections Amidst Middle East Conflict and Global Shocks

The SOFI 2026 report also provides critical updated projections for global hunger over the next five years, taking into account the profound impact of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The analysis reveals that depending on the duration and intensity of the crisis’s impact on food inflation, which is exacerbated by rising energy and fertilizer prices, approximately 510 to 520 million people could still be facing hunger in 2030. This projection is higher than the pre-conflict scenario’s estimate of 503 million. While the global number of undernourished people is still expected to decrease by 20 percent by 2030, the Middle East conflict represents a significant threat to achieving the SDG 2 target of Zero Hunger.

Furthermore, these projections do not account for other potential disruptors that could further exacerbate the situation. The report specifically mentions the potential effects of extreme weather events, such as the anticipated El Niño phenomenon in 2026 and 2027. Such climatic shocks can decimate agricultural yields, disrupt supply chains, and drive up food prices, pushing millions more into food insecurity. The cumulative effect of these interconnected crises highlights the fragility of global food systems and the urgent need for enhanced resilience.

The joint authors of the report – the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN World Food Programme (WFP), and the World Health Organization (WHO) – issue a grave warning. The 2026 Middle East conflict, coupled with the escalating impacts of climate change, and potential reductions in official development assistance and humanitarian funding, are collectively threatening to undermine the progress painstakingly achieved in the global fight against hunger. This confluence of crises necessitates a coordinated and robust international response.

Stalled Progress on Global Nutrition Targets

Beyond hunger, the SOFI 2026 report paints a concerning picture of global nutrition. Progress on essential maternal and child nutrition indicators remains insufficient to meet internationally agreed-upon commitments, including the 2030 nutrition targets. Key indicators such as child stunting (low height for age), wasting (low weight for height), overweight, low birthweight, and rates of exclusive breastfeeding are showing only marginal improvements. The pace of progress is too slow to achieve the ambitious targets set for the end of this decade.

Compounding these challenges, the prevalence of anaemia among women aged 15 to 49 years is worsening in many regions, a condition that has significant implications for maternal and child health. Simultaneously, the prevalence of adult obesity continues its steady upward trajectory, increasing from 12.1 percent in 2012 to 16.2 percent in 2024. This trend is directly contrary to the target of halting the rise in obesity by 2025. The report highlights that only 30.8 percent of children aged 6 to 23 months worldwide are consuming a minimally diverse diet, and a staggering 150 million children under five years of age are still stunted, a permanent consequence of chronic undernutrition.

Regional variations in nutrition outcomes are also significant. While the prevalence of child stunting is declining in Africa and is on track to meet the 2030 target in Asia, exclusive breastfeeding rates are showing improvements across most regions where data is available. However, nearly all regions are experiencing widening gaps in effectively addressing anaemia among women, a critical public health concern. Furthermore, childhood overweight is increasing at an alarming rate in Oceania, underscoring the complex and multifaceted nature of malnutrition.

The Escalating Cost of a Healthy Diet

A significant focus of this year’s SOFI report is the escalating cost of a healthy diet. A healthy diet, defined by the FAO and WHO as one that is adequate, balanced, diverse, and moderate, requires the expenditure of locally available foods that meet energy and most nutrient requirements. The report underscores that the prohibitive cost of such diets remains a major impediment to achieving SDG 2. While lowering these costs is crucial, it is not, in isolation, sufficient to guarantee improved dietary quality and better nutrition outcomes.

In 2025, the average global cost of a healthy diet rose to 4.28 purchasing power parity (PPP) dollars per person per day. This represents a substantial increase from 3.44 PPP dollars in 2021 and 2.94 PPP dollars in 2017. Latin America and the Caribbean recorded the highest average costs, at 4.91 PPP dollars per day. Concurrently, the number of people unable to afford a healthy diet has declined, from 2.97 billion (37.4 percent of the global population) in 2021 to 2.69 billion (32.7 percent) in 2025. However, this apparent decrease masks significant underlying regional disparities and persistent affordability crises.

In Africa, the situation regarding affordability has worsened markedly. In 2025, a staggering 66.6 percent of the population was unable to afford a healthy diet, a figure more than double that observed in Asia and in Latin America and the Caribbean. This highlights a critical divergence in global progress and points to deep-seated structural issues within African agrifood systems.

The cost of healthy diets varies widely across regions, influenced by fundamental differences in agrifood systems. Animal-source foods, fruits, and vegetables constitute the largest share of expenses in a healthy diet, while staple grains contribute relatively less. In Africa, animal-source foods are the most significant cost driver, whereas in Latin America and the Caribbean, vegetables represent the largest portion of the healthy diet’s cost.

Value Chains and Policy Imperatives

Food value chains play a pivotal role in determining food prices. Post-farmgate activities, encompassing processing, logistics, and wholesale, account for a substantial 70 to 75 percent of what consumers ultimately pay. Up to 40 percent of total costs can arise within these segments alone. Consequently, improving efficiency in these areas is paramount, particularly for lowering the cost of perishable, nutrient-rich foods that are essential for a healthy diet.

The report emphasizes that reducing the cost of a healthy diet necessitates context-specific policy responses. These policies must focus on expanding the supply of nutritious foods while simultaneously addressing and lowering structural costs across agrifood value chains. This includes strategic investments in infrastructure, research and development, irrigation systems, and cold chain facilities. Additionally, reforms in subsidy regimes, trade facilitation, and regulatory frameworks are crucial for creating an enabling environment for affordable, healthy food.

Targeted interventions aimed at boosting agricultural productivity, minimizing food losses, and promoting sustainable farming practices can yield multifaceted benefits. Such interventions can simultaneously improve nutrition outcomes, enhance the resilience of food systems to shocks, and contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation goals. The interconnectedness of these challenges demands integrated policy solutions.

The SOFI 2026 report concludes with a powerful assertion: "The work that lies ahead over the years to 2030 is immense. However, a world in which a healthy diet is no longer out of reach for nearly one in three people is a world worth building." This sentiment underscores the urgency and the potential for transformative change if concerted efforts are made.

Official Responses and Expert Commentary

The release of the SOFI 2026 report was accompanied by statements from the heads of the involved UN agencies, highlighting the significance of the findings and urging collective action.

QU Dongyu, Director-General of the FAO, stated, "The report shows that progress is possible, but we must move faster. Ending hunger and making healthy diets affordable requires political commitment, sustained investment and enabling policies. Recent crises – from natural disasters like the COVID-19 pandemic to man-made disasters like hotspots of conflicts, the war in Ukraine, the Gaza crisis, and the recent Strait of Hormuz disruption – have demonstrated both the resilience of agrifood systems and the need to strengthen them further to better serve the world’s most vulnerable people, farmers and consumers."

Alvaro Lario, President of IFAD, commented, "SOFI tells us that the cost of a healthy diet continues to rise and that nearly 2.7 billion people may still be unable to afford a healthy diet. Resilient value chains must be a central part of the answer. Our task now is to turn the evidence SOFI provides into investment – and to do so through partnership. Together, we can build the value chains, market systems and rural economies that make healthy food affordable for all."

Catherine Russell, Executive Director of UNICEF, remarked, "Every child deserves the chance to grow and develop to their full potential, and this starts with access to nutritious, affordable food. This report is a stark reminder that food systems fail millions of children and families. Food, health, education and social protection must go hand in hand to protect the most vulnerable children and women from global shocks."

Carl Skau, Acting Executive Director of WFP, noted, "Behind every number in this report is a family counting the cost of food. Conflict and climate shocks push them further beyond their means. We must continue working with partner agencies, governments and communities to build food systems that hold up under shock, so families can afford nutritious diets, even in times of crisis. We now need sustained investment to match the scale of the challenge."

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO, added, "While we welcome the clear progress we have made in reducing hunger, a healthy diet still remains unaffordable for one in three people globally. Obesity is rising and progress on maternal and child nutrition is stalling. But we know what works: policies that make healthy food the easy choice, promoting breastfeeding, front-of-pack labelling, taxing unhealthy products, and protecting children from harmful marketing. Healthy diets are not a luxury – they are the foundation of health and must be within everyone’s reach."

Broader Implications and Future Outlook

The findings of the SOFI 2026 report underscore the critical interconnectedness of global challenges. Food security, nutrition, climate change, conflict, and economic stability are inextricably linked. The progress made in reducing hunger, while encouraging, is fragile and susceptible to reversal by the confluence of ongoing crises. The widening gap in affordability of healthy diets, particularly in Africa, poses a significant threat to human development and long-term economic prosperity.

The report serves as a clarion call for increased political will, sustained financial investment, and innovative policy frameworks. A paradigm shift is needed, moving beyond reactive measures to proactive strategies that build resilient, sustainable, and equitable agrifood systems. The next few years leading up to 2030 are crucial. Failure to accelerate progress and address the systemic drivers of hunger and malnutrition will have profound and lasting consequences for global health, social justice, and geopolitical stability. The vision of a world where no one goes hungry and everyone has access to a healthy diet remains achievable, but only through intensified and unified global action.