The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is a tool used to measure and track hunger at the global, regional, and national levels. The report, published annually in October, describes the prevalence of hunger and undernutrition in individual countries and gauges both progress and setbacks in the global fight against hunger. GHI scores can be used to rank countries, and current results can be compared with past outcomes. An interactive map enables users to visualize data across different years and zoom into specific regions or countries. The index was originally developed by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in cooperation with Welthungerhilfe, a German aid organization, and was first published in 2006. In 2007, the Irish non-governmental organization (NGO) Concern Worldwide joined as a co-publisher. In 2018, IFPRI handed the project over to its longstanding partners Welthungerhilfe and Concern Worldwide, who have continued the GHI as a joint initiative ever since. In 2024, the Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict (IFHV) joined the project as an academic partner. The Global Hunger Index 2025 marks the anniversary by taking stock of two decades of evidence-based recommendations: moving from productivity-focused agriculture toward rights-based, inclusive, and resilience-oriented approaches. Priorities include, among others, stronger governance and accountability; climate-adapted and transformed food systems; equal opportunities; support for rural livelihoods; cross-sectoral strategies; and coordinated, responsible development finance. It underscores the importance of reliable data, anticipatory risk management, and local empowerment, especially of women and marginalized groups. In previous years, topics included:
2010: Early childhood undernutrition among children younger than the age of two. 2011: Rising and more volatile food prices of the recent years and the effects these changes have on hunger and malnutrition. 2012: Achieving food security and sustainable use of natural resources, when the natural sources of food become increasingly scarce. 2013: Strengthening community resilience against undernutrition and malnutrition. 2014: Hidden hunger, a form of undernutrition characterized by micronutrient deficiencies. 2015: Armed conflict and its relation to hunger. 2016: Reaching the UN Sustainable Development Goal of zero hunger by 2030. 2017: The challenges of inequality and hunger. 2018: Forced migration and hunger. 2019: Climate change and hunger. 2020: "One decade to Zero Hunger: Linking health and sustainable food systems". 2021: Hunger and Food Systems in Conflict Settings. 2022: Food Systems Transformation and Local Governance. 2023: The Power of Youth in Shaping Food Systems. 2024: How Gender Justice can advance Climate Resilience and Zero Hunger 2025: 20 Years of tracking Progress: Time to recommit to Zero Hunger In addition to the yearly GHI, the Hunger Index for the States of India (ISHI) was published in 2008 and the Sub-National Hunger Index for Ethiopia was published in 2009. An interactive map allows users to visualize the data for different years and zoom into specific regions or countries.
Calculation of GHI scores Based on the values of the four indicators, a GHI score is calculated on a 100-point scale reflecting the severity of hunger, where 0 is the best possible score (no hunger) and 100 is the worst. Each country's GHI score is classified by severity, from low to extremely alarming. The GHI combines 4 component indicators:
Undernourishment: the share of the population with insufficient caloric intake. Child stunting: the share of children under age five who have low height for their age, reflecting chronic undernutrition. Child wasting: the share of children under age five who have low weight for their height, reflecting acute undernutrition. Child mortality: the share of children who die before their fifth birthday, partly reflecting the fatal mix of inadequate nutrition and unhealthy environments. In 2025, data were assessed for the 136 countries that met the criteria for inclusion in the GHI, and GHI scores were calculated for 123 of those countries based on data from 2000 to 2024. The data used to calculate GHI scores come from published United Nations sources (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, World Health Organization, UNICEF, and Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation), the World Bank, and Demographic and Health Surveys. For 13 countries, individual scores could not be calculated and ranks could not be determined owing to a lack of data. Seven countries were provisionally designated by severity based on other published data. For the remaining 6 countries, data were insufficient to allow for either calculating GHI scores or assigning provisional categories.
Regional and national trends The 2025 GHI report finds that hunger is most severe in the regions of Africa South of the Sahara and South Asia, where hunger remains serious. Africa South of the Sahara’s high GHI score is driven by the highest undernourishment and child mortality rates of any region by far. In South Asia, serious hunger is driven by rising undernourishment and persistently high child undernutrition. Hunger is designated as moderate in West Asia and North Africa, though food crises are occurring in Gaza and Yemen. Hunger is categorized as low in Latin America and the Caribbean, East and Southeast Asia, and Europe and Central Asia. According to the 2025 GHI scores and provisional designations, hunger is considered alarming in 6 countries (Burundi, Chad, Madagascar, Somalia, South Sudan, and Yemen) and serious in 36 countries. Many countries are slipping backward: in 27 countries with low, moderate, serious, or alarming 2025 GHI scores, hunger has actually increased since 2016. In 10 countries with moderate, serious, or alarming 2025 GHI scores, progress has largely stalled and their 2025 GHI scores have declined by less than 5 percent from their 2016 GHI scores. A small number of countries—including Mozambique, Rwanda, Somalia, Togo and Uganda—have made significant improvements in their GHI scores, even if hunger in these countries remains too high.
Country rankings Country rankings as per the Global Hunger Index. Legend
See also List of countries by percentage of population living in poverty Food portal World portal
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