Number of moderately or severely food insecure people (million) in Southern Asia
Southern Asia: Number of moderately or severely food insecure people (million) was 704.4 million No in 2025. ▲ Rising
Number of moderately or severely food insecure people (million) in Southern Asia, 2014–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in million No.
Analysis
In 2025, number of moderately or severely food insecure people (million) in Southern Asia stood at 704.4 million No.
That represents a change of down 8.3% on the previous year and up 24.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of moderately or severely food insecure people (million) in Southern Asia peaked at 883.8 million No in 2020 and was at its lowest, 538.8 million No, in 2017.
Southern Asia ranks 6th of 34 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.
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 Southern Asia, year by year
| Year | million No | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 571.1 million No | — |
| 2015 | 565.4 million No | -1.0% |
| 2016 | 553.4 million No | -2.1% |
| 2017 | 538.8 million No | -2.6% |
| 2018 | 659.8 million No | +22.5% |
| 2019 | 713.7 million No | +8.2% |
| 2020 | 883.8 million No | +23.8% |
| 2021 | 820.3 million No | -7.2% |
| 2022 | 799.8 million No | -2.5% |
| 2023 | 798.3 million No | -0.2% |
| 2024 | 768.5 million No | -3.7% |
| 2025 | 704.4 million No | -8.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 600.37 million No | 538.8 million No | 713.7 million No | 6 |
| 2020s | 795.85 million No | 704.4 million No | 883.8 million No | 6 |
Countries ranked near Southern Asia
More agriculture & rural data for Southern Asia
- Sheep — Stocks, annual growth rate 3.87 % change on previous year (2024)
- Raw hides and skins of sheep or lambs — Producing 7.31 % change on previous year (2024)
- Raw milk of cattle — Yield/Carcass Weight, annual growth rate 1.26 % change on previous year (2024)
- Raw milk of cattle — Production, annual growth rate 5.62 % change on previous year (2024)
- Raw milk of cattle — Milk Animals, annual growth rate 4.28 % change on previous year (2024)
- Sheep fat, unrendered — Producing Animals/Slaughtered, annual growth 7.31 % change on previous year (2024)
- Beef and Buffalo Meat, primary — Production, annual growth rate 4.72 % change on previous year (2024)
- Beef and Buffalo Meat, primary — Yield/Carcass Weight, annual growth 1.9 % change on previous year (2024)
- Raw hides and skins of sheep or lambs — Production, annual growth rate 7.69 % change on previous year (2024)
- Sheep fat, unrendered — Production, annual growth rate 5.81 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of moderately or severely food insecure people (million) in Southern Asia?
- Number of moderately or severely food insecure people (million) in Southern Asia was 704.4 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 Southern Asia?
- The highest recorded value was 883.8 million No in 2020.
- What is the lowest number of moderately or severely food insecure people (million) recorded in Southern Asia?
- The lowest recorded value was 538.8 million No in 2017.
- How does Southern Asia rank for number of moderately or severely food insecure people (million)?
- Southern Asia ranks 6th out of 34 groups with data for 2025.
- Is number of moderately or severely food insecure people (million) rising or falling in Southern Asia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 24.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Southern Asia 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
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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.