Rising food prices sees increased numbers of people going hungry worldwide

Jul 15, 2022

With the collaboration of Statista.

Hunger lingers for millions of underemployed, low-income Americans. Picture taken November 10, 2021. REUTERS/Christopher Walljasper

The number of malnourished people has increased for the sixth year in a row to around 768 million. Image: REUTERS/Christopher Walljasper

Katharina Buchholz

Data Journalist, Statista

The number of malnourished people has increased for the sixth year in a row to around 768 million.
Food prices are being pushed up the war in Ukraine, World Food Programme director David Beasley warned.
Hunger was most widespread in Africa where it affects 2% of the population.

Progress in fighting world hunger has continued to stall. At yesterday's (6 July) release of the Food Security and Nutrition in the World report, World Food Programme director David Beasley said that the result of rising food prices due to the war in Ukraine would be "global destabilisation, starvation, and mass migration on an unprecedented scale", urging world leaders to act to avert catastrophe.

Last year, the number of malnourished people worldwide increased for the sixth year in a row to a medium projection of around 768 million. At the high estimate of 828 million, 10 percent of the world population would have been affected by hunger in 2021.

Hunger was most widespread in Africa where it affects 20 percent of the population while 9 percent of people across Asia are also impacted by it. The disruption of global grain supply chains by the Russian invasion of Ukraine is believed to predominantly affect countries already struggling with nutrition problems, as many of the poorest countries are grain importers.

Graph showing number of people undernourished from 2005 to 2020

Last year, the number of malnourished people worldwide increased to around 768 million people. Image: Statista

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