posts: 2681
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| 2681 | Hunger and Undernourishment | hunger-and-undernourishment | page | publish | <!-- wp:html --> <!-- formatting-options toc:false bodyClassName:topic-page --> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:owid/sticky-nav --> <!-- wp:navigation-link {"label":"Introduction","url":"#introduction","kind":"custom","isTopLevelLink":false} /--> <!-- wp:navigation-link {"label":"Key Insights","url":"#key-insights","kind":"custom","isTopLevelLink":false} /--> <!-- wp:navigation-link {"label":"Research \u0026amp; Writing","url":"#research-writing","kind":"custom","isTopLevelLink":false} /--> <!-- wp:navigation-link {"label":"Charts","url":"#interactive-charts-on-hunger-and-undernourishment","kind":"custom","isTopLevelLink":false} /--> <!-- wp:navigation-link {"label":"Endnotes","url":"#endnotes","kind":"custom","isTopLevelLink":false} /--> <!-- wp:navigation-link {"label":"Cite This Work","url":"#citation","kind":"custom","isTopLevelLink":false} /--> <!-- wp:navigation-link {"label":"Reuse This Work","url":"#licence","kind":"custom","isTopLevelLink":false} /--> <!-- /wp:owid/sticky-nav --> <!-- wp:owid/front-matter --> <!-- wp:columns {"className":"front-matter"} --> <div class="wp-block-columns front-matter"><!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column" id="introduction"><!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Having enough to eat is one of the fundamental basic human needs. Hunger – or, more formally, undernourishment – is defined as eating less than the energy required to maintain an active and healthy life.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The share of undernourished people is the <a href="https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/FS">leading indicator</a> for food security and nutrition used by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The fight against hunger focuses on a sufficient energy intake – enough calories per person per day. But it is not the only factor that matters for a healthy diet. Sufficient protein, fats, and micronutrients are also essential, and we cover this in our topic page on <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/micronutrient-deficiency" data-type="URL" data-id="https://ourworldindata.org/micronutrient-deficiency">micronutrient deficiencies</a>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Undernourishment in mothers and children is a leading risk factor for death and other poor health outcomes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The UN has set a global target as part of the Sustainable Development Goals to “<a href="https://sdg-tracker.org/zero-hunger"><em>end hunger by 2030</em></a>“. While the world has progressed in past decades, we are far from reaching this target.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On this page, you can find our data, visualizations, and writing on hunger and undernourishment. It looks at how many people are undernourished, where they are, and other metrics used to track food security.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --></div> <!-- /wp:column --> <!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:group {"className":"related-topics"} --> <div class="wp-block-group related-topics"><!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Related topics</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><li><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/micronutrient-deficiency">Micronutrient Deficiency</a></li><li><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/obesity">Obesity</a></li><li><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/food-prices">Food Prices</a></li><li><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/famines">Famines</a></li></ul> <!-- /wp:list --></div> <!-- /wp:group --></div> <!-- /wp:column --></div> <!-- /wp:columns --> <!-- /wp:owid/front-matter --> <!-- wp:owid/key-insights-slider {"title":"Key insights on Hunger and Undernourishment","slug":"key-insights"} --> <!-- wp:owid/key-insight {"title":"Almost one-in-ten people in the world do not get enough to eat","slug":"poverty-is-defined-and-measured-in-different-ways"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hunger – also known as undernourishment – is defined as not consuming enough calories to maintain a normal, active, healthy life.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The world has made much progress in reducing global hunger in recent decades — we will see this in the following key insight. But we are still far away from an end to hunger. Tragically, nearly one-in-ten people still do not get enough food to eat.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The share of the undernourished population is shown globally and by region in the chart.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>You can see that rates of hunger are highest in Sub-Saharan Africa. South Asia has much higher rates than the Americas and East Asia. Rates in North America and Europe are below 2.5%. However, the FAO shows this as “2.5%” rather than the specific point estimate.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:owid/technical-text --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":5} --> <h5>What you should know about this data</h5> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><li>Undernourishment is solely determined by the sufficiency of energy (calorie) intake. It does not consider the quality or diversity of someone’s diet.</li></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><li>You can read more about this metric in our article <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/undernourishment-definition"><strong>What is undernourishment and how is it measured?</strong></a></li></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- /wp:owid/technical-text --> <!-- wp:html --> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/prevalence-of-undernourishment?tab=chart" loading="lazy" style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;"></iframe> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- /wp:owid/key-insight --> <!-- wp:owid/key-insight {"title":"The world has made significant progress against hunger, but this has slowed","slug":"global-extreme-poverty-declined-substantially-over-the-last-generation"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rates of undernourishment fell quickly during the 20th and early 21st centuries.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The UN FAO estimated that one-in-three people in ‘developing countries’ suffered from hunger in 1970. Rates then plummeted, reaching 12% in 2015.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the last few years, the FAO has adapted its methodology for estimating undernourishment and no longer updates this long-term series from the 1970s.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>However, we can see from more recent data – shown in the previous key insight – that declines have slowed across most regions in the last decade.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rates of undernourishment are much lower than they were in the past but are still far away from zero.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:owid/technical-text --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":5} --> <h5><strong>What you should know about this data</strong></h5> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><li>Undernourishment is solely determined by the sufficiency of energy (calorie) intake. It does not consider the quality or diversity of someone’s diet.<br></li><li>The FAO maintained a constant definition of "developing countries" throughout the data series, with the following definition: "Includes all countries other than developed countries, namely: all countries in Africa except South Africa, all countries in Asia except Israel and Japan, all countries in Oceania except Australia and New Zealand, and all countries in North and Central America except Canada and USA, and all countries in South America."</li></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><li>Figures for 1970 and 1980 are the average between two FAO estimates from annual "State of Food Insecurity in the World" reports in 2006 and 2010. Therefore, these estimates should be interpreted cautiously but have been included for a longer-term perspective on reduction trends.</li></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- /wp:owid/technical-text --> <!-- wp:html --> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/prevalence-of-undernourishment-in-developing-countries-since-1970" loading="lazy" style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;"></iframe> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:owid/key-insight --> <!-- wp:owid/key-insight {"title":"Many children suffer from stunting or wasting due to poor nutrition","slug":"the-pandemic-pushed-millions-into-extreme-poverty"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hunger and malnutrition can present themselves in several ways. Poor health outcomes for mothers and children are essential ones.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The World Health Organization (WHO) and UN FAO measure two critical signs of malnutrition in children.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One is <strong>stunting</strong>. This is when a child is too short for their age. This indicates that a lack of food has hindered their growth and development.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Stunting is not just an issue during childhood. For some children, it has long-term consequences that can persist throughout their life, affecting physical and cognitive development.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The second is <strong>wasting</strong>. This is when a child’s weight is too low for their height. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wasting is a sign that a child has experienced short periods of undernutrition, resulting in significant wastage of muscle and fat tissue. This means their weight is very low for their height.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Many children across the world are still malnourished. In the chart, you can see rates of stunting. In some countries, over one-third and up to one-half of children are stunted.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>→ Read more about childhood stunting in our article <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/stunting-definition">What is childhood stunting?</a>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>→ Read more about childhood wasting in our article <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/wasting-definition">What is childhood wasting?</a>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:owid/technical-text --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":5} --> <h5><strong>What you should know about this data</strong></h5> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><li>‘Stunting’ and ‘Wasting’ are key metrics used by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UN FAO) to track child malnutrition.<br></li><li>‘Stunting’ is measured based on a child’s height relative to age. The WHO produces ‘Expected Healthy Growth Curves’ for child growth. If a child’s height is more than two standard deviations below the median height on this curve, they are defined as ‘stunted’. Read more about childhood stunting in our article <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/stunting-definition">What is childhood stunting?</a></li></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><li>‘Wasting’ is measured based on a child’s weight relative to height. The WHO produces ‘Expected Healthy Growth Curves’ for child growth. If a child’s height is more than two standard deviations below the median height on this curve, they are defined as ‘stunted’. The WHO produces ‘Expected Healthy Growth Curves’ for child growth. If a child’s weight <em>relative to their height</em> is more than two standard deviations below the median, they are defined as ‘wasted’. Read more about childhood wasting in our article <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/wasting-definition">What is childhood wasting?</a></li></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- /wp:owid/technical-text --> <!-- wp:html --> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-of-children-younger-than-5-who-suffer-from-stunting" loading="lazy" style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;"></iframe> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- /wp:owid/key-insight --> <!-- /wp:owid/key-insights-slider --> <!-- wp:group {"className":"wp-block-full-content-width","layout":{"inherit":true}} --> <div class="wp-block-group wp-block-full-content-width"></div> <!-- /wp:group --> <!-- wp:owid/research-and-writing --> <!-- wp:group {"className":"wp-block-research-and-writing"} --> <div class="wp-block-group wp-block-research-and-writing"><!-- wp:heading --> <h2 id="research-writing">Research & Writing</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4>Definitions and concepts of hunger and malnutrition</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:owid/grid {"className":"research-and-writing__sub-category"} --> <!-- wp:owid/card {"title":"What is undernourishment and how is it measured?","linkUrl":"https://ourworldindata.org/undernourishment-definition","mediaId":56335,"mediaUrl":"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2022/02/Undernourishment-definition-01.png","mediaAlt":""} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hannah Ritchie</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:owid/card --> <!-- wp:owid/card {"title":"What is childhood stunting?","linkUrl":"https://ourworldindata.org/stunting-definition","mediaId":56337,"mediaUrl":"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2022/02/Stunting-01.png","mediaAlt":""} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hannah Ritchie</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:owid/card --> <!-- wp:owid/card {"title":"What is childhood wasting?","linkUrl":"https://ourworldindata.org/wasting-definition","mediaId":56338,"mediaUrl":"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2023/03/Wasting-01.png","mediaAlt":""} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hannah Ritchie</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:owid/card --> <!-- wp:owid/card {"title":"What is food insecurity?","linkUrl":"https://ourworldindata.org/food-insecurity","mediaId":56336,"mediaUrl":"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2023/03/Food-insecurity-01.png","mediaAlt":""} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hannah Ritchie</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:owid/card --> <!-- /wp:owid/grid --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4>Other articles related to hunger </h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:owid/grid {"className":"research-and-writing__sub-category"} --> <!-- wp:owid/card {"title":"Three billion people cannot afford a healthy diet","linkUrl":"https://ourworldindata.org/diet-affordability","mediaId":44128,"mediaUrl":"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/07/Diet-costs-thumbnail.png","mediaAlt":""} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hannah Ritchie</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:owid/card --> <!-- wp:owid/card {"title":"Yields vs. Land Use: How the Green Revolution enabled us to feed a growing population","linkUrl":"https://ourworldindata.org/yields-vs-land-use-how-has-the-world-produced-enough-food-for-a-growing-population","mediaId":56158,"mediaUrl":"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2023/03/Green-revolution-thumbnail-01.png","mediaAlt":""} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hannah Ritchie</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:owid/card --> <!-- wp:owid/card {"title":"Increasing agricultural productivity across Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the most important problems this century","linkUrl":"https://ourworldindata.org/africa-yields-problem","mediaId":50501,"mediaUrl":"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2022/03/Yields-vs.-land-use-marimekko-featured-image-01.png","mediaAlt":""} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hannah Ritchie</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:owid/card --> <!-- /wp:owid/grid --></div> <!-- /wp:group --> <!-- /wp:owid/research-and-writing --> <!-- wp:owid/all-charts /--> | {
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What are the consequences of undernourishment and how can we make progress against hunger and undernourishment? | 2020-02-19 22:09:38 | 2023-06-29 11:27:15 | https://ourworldindata.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Hunger-and-Undernourishment.png | {
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Having enough to eat is one of the fundamental basic human needs. Hunger – or, more formally, undernourishment – is defined as eating less than the energy required to maintain an active and healthy life. The share of undernourished people is the [leading indicator](https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/FS) for food security and nutrition used by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The fight against hunger focuses on a sufficient energy intake – enough calories per person per day. But it is not the only factor that matters for a healthy diet. Sufficient protein, fats, and micronutrients are also essential, and we cover this in our topic page on [micronutrient deficiencies](https://ourworldindata.org/micronutrient-deficiency). Undernourishment in mothers and children is a leading risk factor for death and other poor health outcomes. The UN has set a global target as part of the Sustainable Development Goals to “[_end hunger by 2030_](https://sdg-tracker.org/zero-hunger)“. While the world has progressed in past decades, we are far from reaching this target. On this page, you can find our data, visualizations, and writing on hunger and undernourishment. It looks at how many people are undernourished, where they are, and other metrics used to track food security. Related topics * [Micronutrient Deficiency](https://ourworldindata.org/micronutrient-deficiency) * [Obesity](https://ourworldindata.org/obesity) * [Food Prices](https://ourworldindata.org/food-prices) * [Famines](https://ourworldindata.org/famines) Hunger – also known as undernourishment – is defined as not consuming enough calories to maintain a normal, active, healthy life. The world has made much progress in reducing global hunger in recent decades — we will see this in the following key insight. But we are still far away from an end to hunger. Tragically, nearly one-in-ten people still do not get enough food to eat. The share of the undernourished population is shown globally and by region in the chart. You can see that rates of hunger are highest in Sub-Saharan Africa. South Asia has much higher rates than the Americas and East Asia. Rates in North America and Europe are below 2.5%. However, the FAO shows this as “2.5%” rather than the specific point estimate. ##### What you should know about this data * Undernourishment is solely determined by the sufficiency of energy (calorie) intake. It does not consider the quality or diversity of someone’s diet. * You can read more about this metric in our article [**What is undernourishment and how is it measured?**](https://ourworldindata.org/undernourishment-definition) <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/prevalence-of-undernourishment?tab=chart"/> Rates of undernourishment fell quickly during the 20th and early 21st centuries. The UN FAO estimated that one-in-three people in ‘developing countries’ suffered from hunger in 1970. Rates then plummeted, reaching 12% in 2015. In the last few years, the FAO has adapted its methodology for estimating undernourishment and no longer updates this long-term series from the 1970s. However, we can see from more recent data – shown in the previous key insight – that declines have slowed across most regions in the last decade. Rates of undernourishment are much lower than they were in the past but are still far away from zero. ##### **What you should know about this data** * Undernourishment is solely determined by the sufficiency of energy (calorie) intake. It does not consider the quality or diversity of someone’s diet. * The FAO maintained a constant definition of "developing countries" throughout the data series, with the following definition: "Includes all countries other than developed countries, namely: all countries in Africa except South Africa, all countries in Asia except Israel and Japan, all countries in Oceania except Australia and New Zealand, and all countries in North and Central America except Canada and USA, and all countries in South America." * Figures for 1970 and 1980 are the average between two FAO estimates from annual "State of Food Insecurity in the World" reports in 2006 and 2010. Therefore, these estimates should be interpreted cautiously but have been included for a longer-term perspective on reduction trends. <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/prevalence-of-undernourishment-in-developing-countries-since-1970"/> Hunger and malnutrition can present themselves in several ways. Poor health outcomes for mothers and children are essential ones. The World Health Organization (WHO) and UN FAO measure two critical signs of malnutrition in children. One is **stunting**. This is when a child is too short for their age. This indicates that a lack of food has hindered their growth and development. Stunting is not just an issue during childhood. For some children, it has long-term consequences that can persist throughout their life, affecting physical and cognitive development. The second is **wasting**. This is when a child’s weight is too low for their height. Wasting is a sign that a child has experienced short periods of undernutrition, resulting in significant wastage of muscle and fat tissue. This means their weight is very low for their height. Many children across the world are still malnourished. In the chart, you can see rates of stunting. In some countries, over one-third and up to one-half of children are stunted. → Read more about childhood stunting in our article [What is childhood stunting?](https://ourworldindata.org/stunting-definition). → Read more about childhood wasting in our article [What is childhood wasting?](https://ourworldindata.org/wasting-definition). ##### **What you should know about this data** * ‘Stunting’ and ‘Wasting’ are key metrics used by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UN FAO) to track child malnutrition. * ‘Stunting’ is measured based on a child’s height relative to age. The WHO produces ‘Expected Healthy Growth Curves’ for child growth. If a child’s height is more than two standard deviations below the median height on this curve, they are defined as ‘stunted’. Read more about childhood stunting in our article [What is childhood stunting?](https://ourworldindata.org/stunting-definition) * ‘Wasting’ is measured based on a child’s weight relative to height. The WHO produces ‘Expected Healthy Growth Curves’ for child growth. If a child’s height is more than two standard deviations below the median height on this curve, they are defined as ‘stunted’. The WHO produces ‘Expected Healthy Growth Curves’ for child growth. If a child’s weight _relative to their height_ is more than two standard deviations below the median, they are defined as ‘wasted’. Read more about childhood wasting in our article [What is childhood wasting?](https://ourworldindata.org/wasting-definition) <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-of-children-younger-than-5-who-suffer-from-stunting"/> ## Research & Writing #### Definitions and concepts of hunger and malnutrition Hannah Ritchie Hannah Ritchie Hannah Ritchie Hannah Ritchie #### Other articles related to hunger Hannah Ritchie Hannah Ritchie Hannah Ritchie | {
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"rendered": "\n<!-- formatting-options toc:false bodyClassName:topic-page -->\n\n\n\t<div class=\"sticky-nav-contents\">\n<li class=\" wp-block-navigation-item wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\" href=\"#introduction\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Introduction</span></a></li>\n\n<li class=\" wp-block-navigation-item wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\" href=\"#key-insights\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Key Insights</span></a></li>\n\n<li class=\" wp-block-navigation-item wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\" href=\"#research-writing\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Research & Writing</span></a></li>\n\n<li class=\" wp-block-navigation-item wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\" href=\"#interactive-charts-on-hunger-and-undernourishment\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Charts</span></a></li>\n\n<li class=\" wp-block-navigation-item wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\" href=\"#endnotes\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Endnotes</span></a></li>\n\n<li class=\" wp-block-navigation-item wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\" href=\"#citation\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Cite This Work</span></a></li>\n\n<li class=\" wp-block-navigation-item wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\" href=\"#licence\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Reuse This Work</span></a></li>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns front-matter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\" id=\"introduction\">\n<p>Having enough to eat is one of the fundamental basic human needs. Hunger \u2013 or, more formally, undernourishment \u2013 is defined as eating less than the energy required to maintain an active and healthy life.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The share of undernourished people is the <a href=\"https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/FS\">leading indicator</a> for food security and nutrition used by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The fight against hunger focuses on a sufficient energy intake \u2013 enough calories per person per day. But it is not the only factor that matters for a healthy diet. Sufficient protein, fats, and micronutrients are also essential, and we cover this in our topic page on <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/micronutrient-deficiency\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https://ourworldindata.org/micronutrient-deficiency\">micronutrient deficiencies</a>.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Undernourishment in mothers and children is a leading risk factor for death and other poor health outcomes.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The UN has set a global target as part of the Sustainable Development Goals to \u201c<a href=\"https://sdg-tracker.org/zero-hunger\"><em>end hunger by 2030</em></a>\u201c. While the world has progressed in past decades, we are far from reaching this target.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>On this page, you can find our data, visualizations, and writing on hunger and undernourishment. It looks at how many people are undernourished, where they are, and other metrics used to track food security.</p>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<div class=\"wp-container-65e6e2843a2e7 wp-block-group related-topics\">\n<p>Related topics</p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/micronutrient-deficiency\">Micronutrient Deficiency</a></li><li><a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/obesity\">Obesity</a></li><li><a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/food-prices\">Food Prices</a></li><li><a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/famines\">Famines</a></li></ul>\n</div>\n</div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n\t<block type=\"key-insights\">\n\t\t<title>Key insights on Hunger and Undernourishment</title>\n <slug>key-insights</slug>\n <insights>\n\t<block type=\"key-insight\">\n\t\t<title is-hidden=\"0\">Almost one-in-ten people in the world do not get enough to eat</title>\n <slug>poverty-is-defined-and-measured-in-different-ways</slug>\n <content>\n\n<p>Hunger \u2013 also known as undernourishment \u2013 is defined as not consuming enough calories to maintain a normal, active, healthy life.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The world has made much progress in reducing global hunger in recent decades \u2014 we will see this in the following key insight. But we are still far away from an end to hunger. Tragically, nearly one-in-ten people still do not get enough food to eat.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The share of the undernourished population is shown globally and by region in the chart.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can see that rates of hunger are highest in Sub-Saharan Africa. South Asia has much higher rates than the Americas and East Asia. Rates in North America and Europe are below 2.5%. However, the FAO shows this as \u201c2.5%\u201d rather than the specific point estimate.</p>\n\n\n\t<div class=\"wp-block-owid-technical-text\">\n\t\t\n\n<h5>What you should know about this data</h5>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Undernourishment is solely determined by the sufficiency of energy (calorie) intake. It does not consider the quality or diversity of someone\u2019s diet.</li></ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>You can read more about this metric in our article <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/undernourishment-definition\"><strong>What is undernourishment and how is it measured?</strong></a></li></ul>\n\n\n\t</div>\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/prevalence-of-undernourishment?tab=chart\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\"></iframe>\n\n</content>\n\t</block>\n\n\t<block type=\"key-insight\">\n\t\t<title is-hidden=\"0\">The world has made significant progress against hunger, but this has slowed</title>\n <slug>global-extreme-poverty-declined-substantially-over-the-last-generation</slug>\n <content>\n\n<p>Rates of undernourishment fell quickly during the 20th and early 21st centuries.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The UN FAO estimated that one-in-three people in \u2018developing countries\u2019 suffered from hunger in 1970. Rates then plummeted, reaching 12% in 2015.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the last few years, the FAO has adapted its methodology for estimating undernourishment and no longer updates this long-term series from the 1970s.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, we can see from more recent data \u2013 shown in the previous key insight \u2013 that declines have slowed across most regions in the last decade.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rates of undernourishment are much lower than they were in the past but are still far away from zero.</p>\n\n\n\t<div class=\"wp-block-owid-technical-text\">\n\t\t\n\n<h5><strong>What you should know about this data</strong></h5>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Undernourishment is solely determined by the sufficiency of energy (calorie) intake. It does not consider the quality or diversity of someone\u2019s diet.<br></li><li>The FAO maintained a constant definition of “developing countries” throughout the data series, with the following definition: “Includes all countries other than developed countries, namely: all countries in Africa except South Africa, all countries in Asia except Israel and Japan, all countries in Oceania except Australia and New Zealand, and all countries in North and Central America except Canada and USA, and all countries in South America.”</li></ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Figures for 1970 and 1980 are the average between two FAO estimates from annual “State of Food Insecurity in the World” reports in 2006 and 2010. Therefore, these estimates should be interpreted cautiously but have been included for a longer-term perspective on reduction trends.</li></ul>\n\n\n\t</div>\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/prevalence-of-undernourishment-in-developing-countries-since-1970\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\"></iframe>\n\n\n\n<p></p>\n\n</content>\n\t</block>\n\n\t<block type=\"key-insight\">\n\t\t<title is-hidden=\"0\">Many children suffer from stunting or wasting due to poor nutrition</title>\n <slug>the-pandemic-pushed-millions-into-extreme-poverty</slug>\n <content>\n\n<p>Hunger and malnutrition can present themselves in several ways. Poor health outcomes for mothers and children are essential ones.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The World Health Organization (WHO) and UN FAO measure two critical signs of malnutrition in children.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>One is <strong>stunting</strong>. This is when a child is too short for their age. This indicates that a lack of food has hindered their growth and development.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stunting is not just an issue during childhood. For some children, it has long-term consequences that can persist throughout their life, affecting physical and cognitive development.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The second is <strong>wasting</strong>. This is when a child\u2019s weight is too low for their height. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wasting is a sign that a child has experienced short periods of undernutrition, resulting in significant wastage of muscle and fat tissue. This means their weight is very low for their height.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many children across the world are still malnourished. In the chart, you can see rates of stunting. In some countries, over one-third and up to one-half of children are stunted.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2192 Read more about childhood stunting in our article <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/stunting-definition\">What is childhood stunting?</a>.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2192 Read more about childhood wasting in our article <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/wasting-definition\">What is childhood wasting?</a>.</p>\n\n\n\t<div class=\"wp-block-owid-technical-text\">\n\t\t\n\n<h5><strong>What you should know about this data</strong></h5>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>\u2018Stunting\u2019 and \u2018Wasting\u2019 are key metrics used by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UN FAO) to track child malnutrition.<br></li><li>\u2018Stunting\u2019 is measured based on a child\u2019s height relative to age. The WHO produces \u2018Expected Healthy Growth Curves\u2019 for child growth. If a child\u2019s height is more than two standard deviations below the median height on this curve, they are defined as \u2018stunted\u2019. Read more about childhood stunting in our article <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/stunting-definition\">What is childhood stunting?</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>\u2018Wasting\u2019 is measured based on a child\u2019s weight relative to height. The WHO produces \u2018Expected Healthy Growth Curves\u2019 for child growth. If a child\u2019s height is more than two standard deviations below the median height on this curve, they are defined as \u2018stunted\u2019. The WHO produces \u2018Expected Healthy Growth Curves\u2019 for child growth. If a child\u2019s weight <em>relative to their height</em> is more than two standard deviations below the median, they are defined as \u2018wasted\u2019. Read more about childhood wasting in our article <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/wasting-definition\">What is childhood wasting?</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\t</div>\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-of-children-younger-than-5-who-suffer-from-stunting\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\"></iframe>\n\n</content>\n\t</block>\n</insights>\n\t</block>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-container-65e6e2843a881 wp-block-group wp-block-full-content-width\"></div>\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-container-65e6e2848430c wp-block-group wp-block-research-and-writing\">\n<h2 id=\"research-writing\">Research & Writing</h2>\n\n\n\n<h4>Definitions and concepts of hunger and malnutrition</h4>\n\n\n\t<div class=\"wp-block-owid-grid research-and-writing__sub-category\">\n\t\t\n <div class=\"wp-block-owid-card with-image\" data-no-lightbox>\n <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/undernourishment-definition\">\n <figure><img width=\"768\" height=\"542\" src=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2022/02/Undernourishment-definition-01-768x542.png\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2022/02/Undernourishment-definition-01-768x542.png 768w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2022/02/Undernourishment-definition-01-400x282.png 400w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2022/02/Undernourishment-definition-01-779x550.png 779w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2022/02/Undernourishment-definition-01-150x106.png 150w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2022/02/Undernourishment-definition-01-1536x1084.png 1536w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2022/02/Undernourishment-definition-01-2048x1446.png 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" /></figure>\n <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n <div class=\"title\">What is undernourishment and how is it measured?</div class=\"title\">\n <div class=\"description\">\n \n\n<p>Hannah Ritchie</p>\n\n\n </div>\n </div>\n </a>\n </div>\n\n <div class=\"wp-block-owid-card with-image\" data-no-lightbox>\n <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/stunting-definition\">\n <figure><img width=\"768\" height=\"402\" src=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2022/02/Stunting-01-768x402.png\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2022/02/Stunting-01-768x402.png 768w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2022/02/Stunting-01-400x209.png 400w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2022/02/Stunting-01-800x419.png 800w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2022/02/Stunting-01-150x79.png 150w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2022/02/Stunting-01-1536x804.png 1536w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2022/02/Stunting-01-2048x1072.png 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" /></figure>\n <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n <div class=\"title\">What is childhood stunting?</div class=\"title\">\n <div class=\"description\">\n \n\n<p>Hannah Ritchie</p>\n\n\n </div>\n </div>\n </a>\n </div>\n\n <div class=\"wp-block-owid-card with-image\" data-no-lightbox>\n <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/wasting-definition\">\n <figure><img width=\"768\" height=\"402\" src=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2023/03/Wasting-01-768x402.png\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2023/03/Wasting-01-768x402.png 768w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2023/03/Wasting-01-400x209.png 400w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2023/03/Wasting-01-800x419.png 800w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2023/03/Wasting-01-150x79.png 150w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2023/03/Wasting-01-1536x804.png 1536w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2023/03/Wasting-01-2048x1072.png 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" /></figure>\n <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n <div class=\"title\">What is childhood wasting?</div class=\"title\">\n <div class=\"description\">\n \n\n<p>Hannah Ritchie</p>\n\n\n </div>\n </div>\n </a>\n </div>\n\n <div class=\"wp-block-owid-card with-image\" data-no-lightbox>\n <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/food-insecurity\">\n <figure><img width=\"768\" height=\"402\" src=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2023/03/Food-insecurity-01-768x402.png\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2023/03/Food-insecurity-01-768x402.png 768w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2023/03/Food-insecurity-01-400x209.png 400w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2023/03/Food-insecurity-01-800x419.png 800w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2023/03/Food-insecurity-01-150x79.png 150w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2023/03/Food-insecurity-01-1536x804.png 1536w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2023/03/Food-insecurity-01-2048x1072.png 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" /></figure>\n <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n <div class=\"title\">What is food insecurity?</div class=\"title\">\n <div class=\"description\">\n \n\n<p>Hannah Ritchie</p>\n\n\n </div>\n </div>\n </a>\n </div>\n\n\t</div>\n\n\n<h4>Other articles related to hunger </h4>\n\n\n\t<div class=\"wp-block-owid-grid research-and-writing__sub-category\">\n\t\t\n <div class=\"wp-block-owid-card with-image\" data-no-lightbox>\n <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/diet-affordability\">\n <figure><img width=\"768\" height=\"301\" src=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/07/Diet-costs-thumbnail-768x301.png\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/07/Diet-costs-thumbnail-768x301.png 768w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/07/Diet-costs-thumbnail-400x157.png 400w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/07/Diet-costs-thumbnail-800x314.png 800w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/07/Diet-costs-thumbnail-150x59.png 150w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/07/Diet-costs-thumbnail-1536x603.png 1536w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/07/Diet-costs-thumbnail.png 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" /></figure>\n <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n <div class=\"title\">Three billion people cannot afford a healthy diet</div class=\"title\">\n <div class=\"description\">\n \n\n<p>Hannah Ritchie</p>\n\n\n </div>\n </div>\n </a>\n </div>\n\n <div class=\"wp-block-owid-card with-image\" data-no-lightbox>\n <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/yields-vs-land-use-how-has-the-world-produced-enough-food-for-a-growing-population\">\n <figure><img width=\"768\" height=\"402\" src=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2023/03/Green-revolution-thumbnail-01-768x402.png\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2023/03/Green-revolution-thumbnail-01-768x402.png 768w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2023/03/Green-revolution-thumbnail-01-400x209.png 400w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2023/03/Green-revolution-thumbnail-01-800x419.png 800w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2023/03/Green-revolution-thumbnail-01-150x79.png 150w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2023/03/Green-revolution-thumbnail-01-1536x804.png 1536w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2023/03/Green-revolution-thumbnail-01-2048x1072.png 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" /></figure>\n <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n <div class=\"title\">Yields vs. Land Use: How the Green Revolution enabled us to feed a growing population</div class=\"title\">\n <div class=\"description\">\n \n\n<p>Hannah Ritchie</p>\n\n\n </div>\n </div>\n </a>\n </div>\n\n <div class=\"wp-block-owid-card with-image\" data-no-lightbox>\n <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/africa-yields-problem\">\n <figure><img width=\"768\" height=\"301\" src=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2022/03/Yields-vs.-land-use-marimekko-featured-image-01-768x301.png\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2022/03/Yields-vs.-land-use-marimekko-featured-image-01-768x301.png 768w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2022/03/Yields-vs.-land-use-marimekko-featured-image-01-400x157.png 400w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2022/03/Yields-vs.-land-use-marimekko-featured-image-01-800x314.png 800w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2022/03/Yields-vs.-land-use-marimekko-featured-image-01-150x59.png 150w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2022/03/Yields-vs.-land-use-marimekko-featured-image-01-1536x603.png 1536w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2022/03/Yields-vs.-land-use-marimekko-featured-image-01.png 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" /></figure>\n <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n <div class=\"title\">Increasing agricultural productivity across Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the most important problems this century</div class=\"title\">\n <div class=\"description\">\n \n\n<p>Hannah Ritchie</p>\n\n\n </div>\n </div>\n </a>\n </div>\n\n\t</div></div>\n\n\n\n\t<block type=\"all-charts\"></block>",
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"rendered": "What are the consequences of undernourishment and how can we make progress against hunger and undernourishment?",
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"date_gmt": "2023-06-19T16:22:00",
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