Population in severe food insecurity (thousands of people) by country
Countries reporting
89
Highest
55,348
Nigeria
Lowest
109.2
Israel
Median
1,257
Years covered
11
2014–2024
Data points
1,147
What the numbers show
Population in severe food insecurity (thousands of people) is currently reported for 89 countries. The highest value is 55,348 in Nigeria; the lowest is 109.2 in Israel.
The median across all reporting countries is 1,257, and the mean is 3,965.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 507.
Over the past decade 59 countries rose and 23 fell. The largest increase was in Pakistan (up 1,159.5%), and the largest decrease in Algeria (down 56.5%).
Population in severe food insecurity: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nigeria | 55,348 | 2023 | up 162.8% | rising |
| 2 | Pakistan | 24,958 | 2023 | up 1,159.5% | volatile |
| 3 | Ethiopia | 24,461 | 2023 | up 62.0% | rising |
| 4 | Kenya | 15,533 | 2023 | up 119.9% | rising |
| 5 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 44,991 | 2023 | — | rising |
| 5 | Egypt | 13,765 | 2023 | up 63.8% | rising |
| 6 | Afghanistan | 12,874 | 2023 | up 158.3% | rising |
| 7 | Malawi | 11,745 | 2023 | up 44.1% | rising |
| 8 | Uganda | 7,254 | 2023 | down 10.2% | falling |
| 9 | South Sudan | 7,241 | 2023 | up 6.4% | rising |
| 10 | Brazil | 7,141 | 2023 | up 378.6% | volatile |
| 10 | Viet Nam | 2,254 | 2023 | — | volatile |
| 11 | Cameroon | 6,997 | 2023 | up 37.6% | rising |
| 12 | Argentina | 5,582 | 2023 | up 123.3% | rising |
| 13 | Madagascar | 5,554 | 2023 | up 112.9% | rising |
| 14 | South Africa | 5,360 | 2023 | up 31.7% | rising |
| 15 | Haiti | 5,289 | 2023 | — | flat |
| 16 | Peru | 4,907 | 2023 | up 63.4% | rising |
| 17 | Chad | 4,880 | 2023 | up 2.9% | falling |
| 18 | Zimbabwe | 4,099 | 2023 | down 19.8% | falling |
| 19 | Myanmar | 3,916 | 2023 | — | rising |
| 20 | Guatemala | 3,859 | 2023 | up 50.4% | rising |
| 21 | Nepal | 3,814 | 2023 | up 31.4% | rising |
| 22 | Mexico | 3,768 | 2023 | down 9.5% | falling |
| 23 | Zambia | 3,574 | 2023 | down 2.8% | falling |
| 24 | Philippines | 3,480 | 2023 | down 1.2% | falling |
| 25 | Ghana | 3,182 | 2023 | up 119.3% | rising |
| 26 | Sierra Leone | 2,847 | 2023 | up 51.2% | rising |
| 27 | Colombia | 2,614 | 2023 | up 14.2% | rising |
| 28 | Algeria | 2,272 | 2023 | down 56.5% | falling |
| 29 | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | 2,257 | 2023 | up 85.6% | rising |
| 30 | Ecuador | 2,135 | 2023 | up 120.3% | rising |
| 31 | Benin | 2,114 | 2023 | up 78.0% | rising |
| 32 | Ukraine | 2,068 | 2023 | up 124.6% | rising |
| 33 | Liberia | 2,036 | 2023 | up 13.2% | rising |
| 34 | Dominican Republic | 2,029 | 2023 | down 20.1% | falling |
| 35 | Malaysia | 2,024 | 2023 | down 16.9% | falling |
| 36 | Niger | 1,983 | 2023 | down 7.8% | falling |
| 37 | Uzbekistan | 1,861 | 2023 | up 223.2% | rising |
| 38 | France | 1,777 | 2023 | up 75.2% | rising |
| 39 | Burkina Faso | 1,686 | 2023 | up 44.5% | rising |
| 40 | Honduras | 1,636 | 2023 | up 24.8% | rising |
| 41 | Romania | 1,346 | 2023 | up 20.6% | rising |
| 42 | Japan | 1,344 | 2023 | up 93.6% | rising |
| 43 | Libya | 1,257 | 2023 | up 72.1% | rising |
| 44 | Tunisia | 1,168 | 2023 | up 12.5% | rising |
| 45 | Australia and New Zealand | 1,116 | 2024 | up 59.9% | rising |
| 46 | Germany | 1,007 | 2023 | up 26.5% | rising |
| 47 | Australia | 991.4 | 2023 | up 46.8% | rising |
| 48 | El Salvador | 969.1 | 2023 | up 13.5% | rising |
| 49 | Togo | 925.2 | 2023 | down 25.2% | falling |
| 50 | Namibia | 888.3 | 2023 | up 29.6% | rising |
| 51 | Jamaica | 788.4 | 2023 | up 11.1% | rising |
| 52 | Canada | 734.7 | 2023 | up 253.7% | rising |
| 53 | Senegal | 717 | 2023 | down 34.2% | falling |
| 54 | Chile | 698.6 | 2023 | up 32.9% | rising |
| 55 | Spain | 683.3 | 2023 | up 30.2% | rising |
| 56 | Mauritania | 655.4 | 2023 | up 257.2% | rising |
| 57 | Botswana | 648.6 | 2023 | up 59.7% | rising |
| 58 | Cambodia | 629.6 | 2023 | down 11.9% | rising |
| 59 | Mali | 618.6 | 2023 | down 1.4% | flat |
| 60 | Gambia | 585 | 2023 | up 8.8% | rising |
| 61 | Thailand | 584.1 | 2023 | up 23.6% | rising |
| 62 | Tajikistan | 583 | 2023 | up 37.3% | rising |
| 63 | Lebanon | 581.3 | 2023 | up 133.4% | rising |
| 64 | Lesotho | 570.3 | 2023 | down 3.3% | flat |
| 65 | Republic of Korea | 551.1 | 2023 | — | rising |
| 66 | Netherlands (Kingdom of the) | 488 | 2023 | up 85.3% | rising |
| 67 | Paraguay | 448.3 | 2022 | up 171.2% | rising |
| 68 | Hungary | 432.5 | 2023 | up 219.0% | rising |
| 69 | Poland | 341.5 | 2022 | down 50.6% | falling |
| 70 | Portugal | 322.4 | 2023 | down 23.6% | falling |
| 71 | Belgium | 283.3 | 2023 | — | rising |
| 72 | Sweden | 268.7 | 2023 | up 167.6% | rising |
| 73 | Sri Lanka | 258.3 | 2023 | up 81.1% | rising |
| 74 | Albania | 236.4 | 2023 | down 18.5% | falling |
| 75 | Georgia | 234.4 | 2023 | down 11.3% | flat |
| 76 | New Zealand | 222.6 | 2023 | up 72.6% | rising |
| 77 | Guinea-Bissau | 188.7 | 2022 | up 21.7% | rising |
| 78 | Kuwait | 164.1 | 2023 | down 12.3% | falling |
| 79 | Finland | 163.8 | 2023 | up 25.2% | rising |
| 80 | Mauritius | 155.7 | 2023 | — | rising |
| 81 | Greece | 154.2 | 2023 | down 46.3% | falling |
| 82 | Austria | 136.4 | 2023 | up 33.1% | rising |
| 83 | Costa Rica | 136.1 | 2023 | up 28.5% | rising |
| 84 | Bulgaria | 132.6 | 2023 | down 2.2% | rising |
| 85 | Serbia | 130.8 | 2023 | down 15.3% | rising |
| 86 | Ireland | 110.5 | 2023 | down 31.8% | falling |
| 87 | Israel | 109.2 | 2020 | up 2.8% | rising |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- World 827,990
- Asia 417,476
- Central and Southern Asia 345,840
- Least Developed Countries (LDCs) 259,599
- Southern Asia 343,455
- Landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) 103,869
- Africa 336,869
- Middle Africa 78,783
- Sub-Saharan Africa 303,049
- Eastern Africa 124,130
- United Republic of Tanzania 16,228
- Western Africa 92,276
- Small island developing states (SIDS) 15,460
- Northern Africa and Western Asia 75,276
- Iran (Islamic Republic of) 5,318
- Americas 56,173
- Melanesia 3,213
- Latin America and the Caribbean 51,784
- Western Asia 41,456
- Lao People's Democratic Republic 427.6
- Northern Africa 33,820
- State of Palestine 339.9
- Eastern and South-Eastern Asia 30,180
- Republic of Moldova 164
- South America 27,734
- Europe and Northern America 17,444
- Eastern Asia 16,790
- South-Eastern Asia 13,390
- Europe 13,055
- Central America 13,011
- Caribbean 11,039
- Southern Africa 7,859
- Oceania 4,417
- Northern America 4,389
- Northern Europe 3,962
- Western Europe 3,792
- Eastern Europe 3,564
- Oceania (exc. Australia and New Zealand) 3,302
- United States of America 3,299
- Côte d'Ivoire 2,629