Number of severely food insecure people (million) (3-year average) in Southern Asia

Southern Asia: Number of severely food insecure people (million) (3-year average) was 306.1 million No in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
306.1 million No
Change on year
down 4.6%
Rank
5th
of 36 groups
All-time high
344 million No
in 2020
All-time low
199.6 million No
in 2015
Years of data
10
2014–2023

Number of severely food insecure people (million) (3-year average) in Southern Asia, 2014–2023

01002003002014201820232014: 206.5 million No2015: 199.6 million No2016: 218.5 million No2017: 249.2 million No2018: 301 million No2019: 329.8 million No2020: 344 million No2021: 336.6 million No2022: 320.7 million No2023: 306.1 million No

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in million No.

Analysis

Southern Asia recorded 306.1 million No for number of severely food insecure people (million) (3-year average) in 2023.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 4.6% on the previous year and up 48.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of severely food insecure people (million) (3-year average) in Southern Asia peaked at 344 million No in 2020 and was at its lowest, 199.6 million No, in 2015.

Southern Asia ranks 5th of 36 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.

Number of severely food insecure people (million) (3-year average) in Southern Asia, year by year

Annual values for Number of severely food insecure people (million) (3-year average) — Confidence interval: Lower bound in Southern Asia, 2014 to 2023.
Year million No Change
2014 206.5 million No
2015 199.6 million No -3.3%
2016 218.5 million No +9.5%
2017 249.2 million No +14.1%
2018 301 million No +20.8%
2019 329.8 million No +9.6%
2020 344 million No +4.3%
2021 336.6 million No -2.2%
2022 320.7 million No -4.7%
2023 306.1 million No -4.6%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 250.77 million No 199.6 million No 329.8 million No 6
2020s 326.85 million No 306.1 million No 344 million No 4

Countries ranked near Southern Asia

  1. 2 Ethiopia 17.8 million No compare
  2. 3 Kenya 14.4 million No compare
  3. 4 Democratic Republic of the Congo 45.5 million No compare
  4. 4 Pakistan 13 million No compare
  5. 5 Malawi 12.3 million No compare
  6. 5 United Republic of Tanzania 14.6 million No compare
  7. 6 Egypt 12 million No compare
  8. 7 Afghanistan 10.3 million No compare
  9. 7 Iran (Islamic Republic of) 3.3 million No compare
  10. 8 South Sudan 7.3 million No compare
  11. 8 Melanesia 3 million No compare

See the full ranking of 129 places →

More agriculture & rural data for Southern Asia

All data for Southern Asia →

Frequently asked questions

What is number of severely food insecure people (million) (3-year average) in Southern Asia?
Number of severely food insecure people (million) (3-year average) in Southern Asia was 306.1 million No in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest number of severely food insecure people (million) (3-year average) recorded in Southern Asia?
The highest recorded value was 344 million No in 2020.
What is the lowest number of severely food insecure people (million) (3-year average) recorded in Southern Asia?
The lowest recorded value was 199.6 million No in 2015.
How does Southern Asia rank for number of severely food insecure people (million) (3-year average)?
Southern Asia ranks 5th out of 36 groups with data for 2023.
Is number of severely food insecure people (million) (3-year average) rising or falling in Southern Asia?
Over the last ten years it is up 48.2%. 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 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).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Number of severely food insecure people (million) (3-year average) in Southern Asia. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 11 September 2026, from https://agriculture.statizoid.com/stat/number-of-severely-food-insecure-people-million-3-year-average-confidence-interval-lower/southern-asia/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://agriculture.statizoid.com/stat/number-of-severely-food-insecure-people-million-3-year-average-confidence-interval-lower/southern-asia/">Number of severely food insecure people (million) (3-year average) in Southern Asia</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Number of severely food insecure people (million) (3-year average) — Confidence interval: Lower bound
Unit
million No
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
129 places, 1,175 data points, 2014–2023
Last refreshed

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.