A new report on global food crises, released in May 2025, indicates that nearly 300 million people in 53 countries around the world experience acute levels of hunger.
The Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC), released by the Global Network Against Food Crises in May 2025, states that acute food insecurity and child malnutrition rose for the sixth consecutive year in 2024, pushing millions of people to the brink, in some of the world’s most vulnerable regions
According to the report, global hunger and malnutrition hit record highs in 2024 amid conflict, climate shocks and economic turmoil.
The release shows that conflict, economic shocks, climate extremes and forced displacement continued to drive food insecurity and malnutrition around the world, with catastrophic impacts on many already fragile regions.
Increasing numbers of hungry people
In 2024, more than 295 million people across 53 countries and territories experienced acute levels of hunger. This is an increase of 13.7 million from 2023.
Of great concern is the worsening prevalence of acute food insecurity, which now stands at 22.6 per cent of the population assessed. This marks the fifth consecutive year in which this figure has remained above 20 per cent.
The number of people facing catastrophic hunger (IPC/CH Phase 5) more than doubled over the same period to reach 1.9 million – the highest on record since the GRFC began tracking in 2016.
Malnutrition, particularly among children, reached extremely high levels, including in the Gaza Strip, Mali, Sudan and Yemen. Nearly 38 million children under five were acutely malnourished across 26 nutrition crises.
The report also highlights a sharp increase in hunger driven by forced displacement, with nearly 95 million forcibly displaced people – including internally displaced persons (IDPs), asylum seekers and refugees – living in countries facing food crises.
The affected countries include the Democratic Republic of Congo, Colombia, Sudan and Syria, out of a global total of 128 million forcibly displaced people.
Key drivers of acute food insecurity and malnutrition:
Conflict remained the top driver of acute food insecurity, affecting around 140 million people in 20 countries and territories.
Famine has been confirmed in Sudan, while other hotspots with people experiencing catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity include the Gaza Strip, South Sudan, Haiti and Mali.
Economic shocks, including inflation and currency devaluation, drove hunger in 15 countries affecting 59.4 million people – still nearly double pre-COVID 19 levels, despite a modest decline from 2023.
Some of the largest and most protracted food crises were primarily driven by economic shocks, including in Afghanistan, South Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen.
Weather extremes, particularly El Niño-induced droughts and floods, pushed 18 countries into food crises affecting over 96 million people, with significant impacts in Southern Africa, Southern Asia and the Horn of Africa.
According to the Global Report on Food Crises outlook, hunger shocks will likely persist into 2025, as the Global Network anticipates the most significant reduction in humanitarian funding for food and nutrition crises in the report’s history.
The Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC) is produced annually by the Food Security Information Network (FSIN) and launched by the Global Network Against Food Crises (GNAFC) – a multi-stakeholder initiative that includes United Nations organizations, the European Union, the United States Agency for International Development and non-governmental agencies working together to tackle food crises.