Mapped: Where People Are Starving

What We’re Showing

This graphic compares the scale and proportions of food insecurity globally. Data was sourced from the UN FAO (accessed July 2024).

What is Food Insecurity?

A person is food insecure when they lack regular access to enough safe and nutritious food for normal growth and development and an active and healthy life. 

Key Takeaways

• In Africa, 58% of the population was moderately or severely food insecure in 2023.
• While the prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in Asia is about half that of Africa, Asia has a larger number of food-insecure people: 1.18 billion compared to Africa's 847 million. 
• In 2023, half of the world's 2.33 billion food-insecure people lived in Asia, over one-third in Africa, about 8% (188 million) in Latin America and the Caribbean, and about 4% (98 million) in Northern America and Europe.