Number of moderately or severely food insecure people (million) in World
World: Number of moderately or severely food insecure people (million) was 2,146 million No in 2023. ▲ Rising
Number of moderately or severely food insecure people (million) in World, 2014–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in million No.
Analysis
In 2023, number of moderately or severely food insecure people (million) in World stood at 2,146 million No.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.6% on the previous year and up 38.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of moderately or severely food insecure people (million) in World peaked at 2,205 million No in 2020 and was at its lowest, 1,555 million No, in 2014.
That places World 1st out of 37 groups with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.
Number of moderately or severely food insecure people (million) in World, year by year
| Year | million No | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 1,555 million No | — |
| 2015 | 1,639 million No | +5.4% |
| 2016 | 1,738 million No | +6.1% |
| 2017 | 1,824 million No | +4.9% |
| 2018 | 1,985 million No | +8.8% |
| 2019 | 2,106 million No | +6.1% |
| 2020 | 2,205 million No | +4.7% |
| 2021 | 2,193 million No | -0.6% |
| 2022 | 2,181 million No | -0.5% |
| 2023 | 2,146 million No | -1.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 1,808 million No | 1,555 million No | 2,106 million No | 6 |
| 2020s | 2,181 million No | 2,146 million No | 2,205 million No | 4 |
Countries ranked near World
- 1 Nigeria 173.3 million No compare
- 2 Ethiopia 72.6 million No compare
- 3 Pakistan 55.9 million No compare
- 4 Bangladesh 42.3 million No compare
- 4 Democratic Republic of the Congo 87.3 million No compare
More agriculture & rural data for World
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 4.41 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0401 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 577.68 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.2984 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.4217 units per person (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.2% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.2% (2024)
- Rural population 42.2% (2025)
- Rural population growth 0.3% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of moderately or severely food insecure people (million) in World?
- Number of moderately or severely food insecure people (million) in World was 2,146 million No in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest number of moderately or severely food insecure people (million) recorded in World?
- The highest recorded value was 2,205 million No in 2020.
- What is the lowest number of moderately or severely food insecure people (million) recorded in World?
- The lowest recorded value was 1,555 million No in 2014.
- How does World rank for number of moderately or severely food insecure people (million)?
- World ranks 1st out of 37 groups with data for 2023.
- Is number of moderately or severely food insecure people (million) rising or falling in World?
- Over the last ten years it is up 38.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this World data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Number of moderately or severely food insecure people (million) (3-year average) — Confidence interval: Lower bound. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 10 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).
About this data
The Suite of Food Security Indicators presents the core set of food security indicators. Following the recommendation of experts gathered in the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) Round Table on hunger measurement, hosted at FAO headquarters in September 2011, an initial set of indicators aiming to capture various aspects of food insecurity is presented here. The choice of the indicators has been informed by expert judgement and the availability of data with sufficient coverage to enable comparisons across regions and over time. Many of these indicators are produced and published elsewhere by FAO and other international organizations. They are reported here in a single database with the aim of building a wide food security information system. More indicators will be added to this set as more data will become available. Indicators are classified along the four dimensions of food security -- availability, access, utilization and stability.