World hunger: 2026 figures, causes and how to act

In 2025, two famines were officially declared in the same year for the first time since the United Nations began documenting food crises: one in Gaza, one in Sudan. Over the same period, 645 million people were already living in a state of chronic undernourishment worldwide, according to the latest FAO SOFI report published in July 2026.

These figures tell a paradoxical story: hunger is receding slightly for the third year running, yet 61 million more people than before the Covid pandemic still lack enough food. This guide reviews the 2026 data, unpacks the root causes and sets out how to take concrete action, including remotely from France.

How many people suffer from hunger worldwide in 2026?

The reference report on the subject, The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI), co-produced by the FAO, IFAD, WHO, WFP and UNICEF, puts the number of undernourished people at 645 million in 2025. That is 7.8% of the world's population, down from 8.6% in 2022.

This third consecutive year of decline is real, but misleading. It has to be read alongside two figures that immediately qualify it.

First, 2.1 billion people, one person in four on the planet, live in moderate or severe food insecurity. They are not starving to death, but they do not eat their fill, they skip meals or they depend on aid.

Second, 2.7 billion people, one third of humanity, cannot economically afford a healthy diet. The global average cost of a nutritious diet is estimated at 4.28 PPP dollars a day, a sum out of reach for much of Africa and South Asia.

Where does hunger hit hardest in 2026?

The SOFI 2026 report marks a historic turning point: for the first time, Africa has overtaken Asia in the absolute number of people suffering from hunger. The continent counts 309 million undernourished people, compared with 292 million in Asia. More than two thirds of Africans, 66.6%, cannot afford a healthy diet.

The 10 countries where acute hunger is concentrated

The Global Report on Food Crises 2026 (GRFC) identifies an extreme concentration: two thirds of people facing acute hunger live in just ten countries.

In total, 266 million people across 47 countries were in acute food insecurity in 2025, including 1.4 million officially classified as facing “catastrophe” (IPC 5). Over ten years, that figure has doubled.

Focus on Sudan: the largest food crisis today

Since April 2023, the war between the army and the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan has displaced more than 13 million people and triggered famine in several areas of Darfur and Kordofan. LIFE works in Sudan with regular food distributions run through local partners. To understand how this crisis works and how to help, read our dedicated analysis of the humanitarian crisis in Sudan.

Why does hunger still exist in the world?

Hunger is almost never caused by a global shortage of food. The planet produces enough to feed 10 billion people. What is missing is fair access to that food. Four interlocking factors explain the crisis.

Armed conflict, the leading cause of hunger

All UN agencies agree on this conclusion: conflict is the leading cause of acute food insecurity in the world. War destroys harvests, cuts trade routes, displaces farmers, collapses local currencies and sends food prices soaring. According to the WFP, 40% of civil wars originate in competition over scarce resources, including food. The cycle is vicious: hunger feeds conflict, and conflict deepens hunger.

To go further into this mechanism, our dedicated article explains how conflict and food insecurity reinforce one another.

Climate breakdown, the silent accelerator

Prolonged droughts in the Sahel, floods in South Asia, cyclones in the Caribbean, El Niño disrupting rainfall patterns: extreme climate events destroy harvests and make subsistence farming increasingly uncertain. SOFI 2026 projections estimate that by 2030, 56% of people suffering from hunger will live in Africa, a continent that is especially exposed.

Structural inequality, particularly between women and men

All over the world, women have more limited access to land, agricultural credit, tools and education. The result: 26.1% of women are food insecure, compared with 24.2% of men according to SOFI 2026. The FAO estimates that if the gap in access to agricultural resources were closed, hunger could fall by 12 to 17%. A figure worth pondering.

Economic shocks and aid cuts

Post-Covid inflation, the war in Ukraine that sent cereal prices soaring, rising energy costs, trade tensions: the mechanics of food prices have become unstable. On top of this comes a sharp fall in official development assistance: according to the GRFC 2026, humanitarian aid has fallen back to its 2016 level, while needs have doubled.

What are the consequences of hunger, especially for children?

Hunger does not only kill through a lack of calories. It attacks deeply, and children are its first victims. The SOFI 2026 report gives three figures that sum up the tragedy.

42.8 million children under 5 suffer from wasting, the most severe and most deadly form of acute malnutrition. A wasted child is twelve times more likely to die than a well-nourished child.

150.2 million children under 5 show chronic stunting, with irreversible consequences for cognitive development and school potential.

45% of deaths of children under 5 worldwide are linked to undernutrition, directly or indirectly.

Beyond the figures, hunger leaves a lasting trauma: dropping out of school, early marriage for girls, forced labour, life on the street. An entire generation of children in Gaza, Sudan and Yemen is growing up in these conditions today.

How can you fight world hunger at your own level?

The scale of the problem can seem overwhelming. The more encouraging reality is that specialised NGOs have developed simple, measurable schemes in which every euro counts. Here are the concrete levers, from the most immediate to the most committed.

Make a donation targeted at a food programme

A one-off donation directly funds the purchase, preparation or distribution of meals. The strength of this model is how readable it is: you know exactly what your money pays for.

That is the logic behind the 1 euro = 1 meal campaign run by LIFE since 2009. The concept is simple: every euro given funds a hot meal served to a person in need. In 15 years, this campaign has made it possible to distribute more than 72 million meals in 25 countries, from Palestine to Cambodia by way of Lebanon, Mali and Burkina Faso. To see concretely what one euro achieves and join the campaign, visit the 1 euro = 1 meal page.

Switch to monthly giving to fund the long term

A one-off donation answers an emergency. A monthly donation funds duration. For an NGO, knowing it can count on a steady flow makes it possible to schedule distributions, rent warehouses and sign contracts with local suppliers, in short to move beyond a hand-to-mouth approach. A monthly direct debit of 20 euros funds 20 meals a month, or 240 meals a year.

Claim your tax relief

Too few donors know it: every payment to a recognised NGO such as LIFE gives entitlement to an income tax reduction of 66% of the amount donated, up to 20% of taxable income. A 100 euro donation therefore really costs you 34 euros after tax relief. Over a year, a monthly donation of 20 euros comes to 81.60 euros net.

Choose an NGO that tackles the root causes

Distributing meals answers the emergency. Rebuilding communities' food sovereignty attacks the root. The most effective NGOs combine the two: short-term emergency aid, and agricultural training, boreholes, resilient seeds and support for local markets in the medium term. This guide reviews the structural levers funded by regular donors.

How can you act today with LIFE?

LIFE is a French humanitarian NGO founded in 2009 and active in 25 countries. Its flagship 1 euro = 1 meal campaign is today one of the most effective food donation campaigns in the sector in France, with more than 72 million meals distributed. LIFE works both in emergencies (Gaza, Sudan, Lebanon) and over the long term (agriculture, water, education).