Number of moderately or severely food insecure people (million) in South America
South America: Number of moderately or severely food insecure people (million) was 90.9 million No in 2025. ▲ Rising
Number of moderately or severely food insecure people (million) in South America, 2014–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in million No.
Analysis
The most recent figure for number of moderately or severely food insecure people (million) in South America is 90.9 million No, measured in 2025.
The figure is down 4.1% on the previous year and up 20.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of moderately or severely food insecure people (million) in South America peaked at 135.8 million No in 2021 and was at its lowest, 61.4 million No, in 2014.
South America ranks 21st of 34 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 12 years of available data.
Number of moderately or severely food insecure people (million) in South America, year by year
| Year | million No | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 61.4 million No | — |
| 2015 | 75.5 million No | +23.0% |
| 2016 | 99.3 million No | +31.5% |
| 2017 | 110.2 million No | +11.0% |
| 2018 | 101.5 million No | -7.9% |
| 2019 | 102 million No | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 128.4 million No | +25.9% |
| 2021 | 135.8 million No | +5.8% |
| 2022 | 122.4 million No | -9.9% |
| 2023 | 101.5 million No | -17.1% |
| 2024 | 94.8 million No | -6.6% |
| 2025 | 90.9 million No | -4.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 91.65 million No | 61.4 million No | 110.2 million No | 6 |
| 2020s | 112.3 million No | 90.9 million No | 135.8 million No | 6 |
More agriculture & rural data for South America
- Cereals, primary — Yield, annual growth rate 1.48 % change on previous year (2024)
- Beef and Buffalo Meat, primary — Yield/Carcass Weight, annual growth -1.22 % change on previous year (2024)
- Beef and Buffalo Meat, primary — Production, annual growth rate 7.7 % change on previous year (2024)
- Beef and Buffalo Meat, primary — Producing Animals/Slaughtered 9.08 % change on previous year (2024)
- Cattle and Buffaloes — Stocks, annual growth rate -0.1817 % change on previous year (2024)
- Cereals, primary — Area harvested, annual growth rate 0.0204 % change on previous year (2024)
- Citrus Fruit, Total — Area harvested, annual growth rate -1.52 % change on previous year (2024)
- Citrus Fruit, Total — Production, annual growth rate -6.6 % change on previous year (2024)
- Citrus Fruit, Total — Yield, annual growth rate -5.16 % change on previous year (2024)
- Sheep fat, unrendered — Producing Animals/Slaughtered, annual growth -2.74 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of moderately or severely food insecure people (million) in South America?
- Number of moderately or severely food insecure people (million) in South America was 90.9 million No in 2025, 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 South America?
- The highest recorded value was 135.8 million No in 2021.
- What is the lowest number of moderately or severely food insecure people (million) recorded in South America?
- The lowest recorded value was 61.4 million No in 2014.
- How does South America rank for number of moderately or severely food insecure people (million)?
- South America ranks 21st out of 34 groups with data for 2025.
- Is number of moderately or severely food insecure people (million) rising or falling in South America?
- Over the last ten years it is up 20.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South America 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) (annual value) — Confidence interval: Upper bound. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 12 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.