World hunger: 2026 figures, causes and how to help

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 around the world were already living with chronic undernourishment, according to the FAO's latest SOFI report, published in July 2026.

These figures tell a paradoxical story: hunger is falling slightly for the third year running, yet 61 million more people than before the Covid pandemic still don't have enough to eat. This guide takes stock of the 2026 data, unpicks the root causes and sets out practical ways to help, including from afar in France.

How many people are going hungry around the world in 2026?

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

This three-year decline is real, but misleading. It needs to be read alongside two figures that immediately put it into perspective.

First, 2.1 billion people, one in four people on the planet, face moderate or severe food insecurity. They are not starving, but they don't get enough to eat, skip meals or rely on aid.

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

Where is hunger hitting 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 going hungry. The continent has 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) points to an extreme concentration: two thirds of people facing acute hunger live in just ten countries.

In all, 266 million people across 47 countries faced acute food insecurity in 2025, including 1.4 million in conditions officially classed as “catastrophic” (IPC 5). That figure has doubled in ten years.

Focus on Sudan: the world's 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, running regular food distributions through local partners. To understand how this crisis unfolds and how you can 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

Every UN agency reaches the same conclusion: conflict is the leading cause of acute food insecurity worldwide. War destroys harvests, cuts trade routes, drives farmers from their land, wrecks the local currency and sends food prices soaring. According to the WFP, 40% of civil wars stem from competition over scarce resources, including food. It is a vicious circle: hunger fuels conflict, and conflict deepens hunger.

To explore this further, our dedicated article explains how conflict and food insecurity reinforce each other.

Climate change, the silent accelerator

Prolonged droughts in the Sahel, floods in South Asia, cyclones in the Caribbean, El Niño disrupting rainfall patterns: extreme weather destroys harvests and makes subsistence farming ever more uncertain. SOFI 2026 projections estimate that by 2030, 56% of people going hungry will live in Africa, a continent particularly exposed.

Structural inequality, especially between women and men

All over the world, women have less access to land, agricultural credit, tools and education. The result: 26.1% of women face food insecurity, compared with 24.2% of men, according to SOFI 2026. The FAO estimates that closing the gap in access to agricultural resources could cut hunger by 12 to 17%. Food for thought.

Economic shocks and aid cuts

Post-Covid inflation, the war in Ukraine sending grain prices soaring, rising energy costs, trade tensions: food prices have become volatile. On top of this comes a sharp fall in official development assistance: according to the GRFC 2026, humanitarian aid has dropped back to its 2016 level, even though needs have doubled.

What are the consequences of hunger, especially for children?

Hunger doesn't kill only through a lack of calories. It does deep damage, and children are the 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 deadly form of acute malnutrition. A wasted child is twelve times more likely to die than a well-nourished one.

150.2 million children under 5 are chronically stunted, with irreversible effects on their cognitive development and potential at school.

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

Beyond the figures, hunger leaves lasting trauma: children dropping out of school, girls married young, forced labour, life on the streets. A whole generation of children in Gaza, Sudan and Yemen is growing up in these conditions today.

How can you help fight world hunger?

The scale of the problem can feel overwhelming. The more encouraging reality is that specialist NGOs have built simple, measurable schemes where every euro counts. Here are the practical options, from the most immediate to the most committed.

Give to a specific food programme

A one-off donation directly funds buying, preparing or distributing meals. The strength of this model is its clarity: you know exactly what your money pays for.

That is the thinking behind the 1 euro = 1 meal campaign LIFE has run since 2009. The idea is simple: every euro given funds a hot meal for someone in need. In 15 years, the campaign has distributed more than 72 million meals in 25 countries, from Palestine to Cambodia, via Lebanon, Mali and Burkina Faso. To see what a single euro achieves and join the campaign, visit the 1 euro = 1 meal page.

Give monthly to fund the long haul

A one-off donation meets an emergency. A monthly donation funds the long haul. For an NGO, knowing it can count on a steady income means it can plan distributions, rent warehouses and sign contracts with local suppliers: in short, move beyond working hand to mouth. A €20 monthly direct debit funds 20 meals a month, or 240 meals a year.

Claim tax relief on your donation

Too few donors know this: every gift to a recognised NGO such as LIFE qualifies for French income tax relief of 66% of the amount given, up to 20% of taxable income. So a €100 donation really costs you €34 after tax relief. Over a year, a €20 monthly donation comes to €81.60 net.

Choose an NGO that tackles the root causes

Distributing meals meets the emergency. Rebuilding communities' food sovereignty tackles the root. The most effective NGOs do both: emergency aid in the short term, and agricultural training, boreholes, resilient seeds and support for local markets in the medium term. This guide reviews the structural levers that regular donors fund.

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 now one of the most effective food donation campaigns in the sector in France, with more than 72 million meals distributed. The NGO works both in emergencies (Gaza, Sudan, Lebanon) and over the long term (agriculture, water, education).