Geographies in Depth

10 things to know about hunger

Malnourished two-year-old Dhoah Thoan is fed at a hospital ward in Akobo in southeastern Sudan's Jonglei state April 10, 2010. The UN recently called Akobo "the hungriest place on earth" after years of failed rains and tribal clashes that killed more than 2,000 people during the past year. REUTERS/Mohamed Dahir (SUDAN - Tags: HEALTH SOCIETY ELECTIONS POLITICS IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Global hunger has risen for a third consecutive year. Image: REUTERS/Mohamed Dahir

Thin Lei Win
Food Security Correspondent, Thomson Reuters Foundation
Share:
Our Impact
What's the World Economic Forum doing to accelerate action on Geographies in Depth?
The Big Picture
Explore and monitor how Africa is affecting economies, industries and global issues
A hand holding a looking glass by a lake
Crowdsource Innovation
Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale
Stay up to date:

Africa

Global hunger rose in 2017 for a third consecutive year, fuelled by conflict and climate change, the United Nations revealed in a report published on Tuesday. Obesity levels also increased.

Image: UNICEF

Here are some facts and figures from the report.

- World hunger levels rose in 2017 for the third consecutive year.

- Globally 821 million people, or one in nine, do not have enough food to eat.

- In sub-Saharan Africa, more than one in four may have suffered from chronic hunger in 2017.

- Asia has the largest number of undernourished people due to is sheer size - 515 million.

- Nearly 151 million children under five suffered from stunting due to malnutrition, a condition that hampers physical and mental development.

Have you read?

- More than 50 million children under five are too thin for their height and more than 38 million are overweight.

- One in eight adults - 672 million - is obese.

- Almost 36 percent of countries that experienced a rise in hunger since 2005 also suffered from severe drought.

- Floods cause more climate-related disasters globally than any other extreme climate event.

- Between 2011 and 2016, 51 low- and middle-income countries experienced early or delayed onset of seasons.

Don't miss any update on this topic

Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.

Sign up for free

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

Related topics:
Geographies in DepthFood and WaterClimate Action
Share:
World Economic Forum logo
Global Agenda

The Agenda Weekly

A weekly update of the most important issues driving the global agenda

Subscribe today

You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails. For more details, review our privacy policy.

EU falling short of digital transformation goals, new report finds

David Elliott

July 19, 2024

About Us

Events

Media

Partners & Members

  • Sign in
  • Join Us

Language Editions

Privacy Policy & Terms of Service

© 2024 World Economic Forum