New State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report has revealed that an estimated 8.2 per cent of the global population, or about 673 million people, experienced hunger in 2024, down from 8.5 per cent in 2023 and 8.7 per cent in 2022.

However, the report noted that progress was not consistent across the globe, as hunger continued to rise in most sub-regions of Africa and Western Asia.

The report, published by five specialised agencies of the United Nations and launched during the Second UN Food Systems Summit Stocktake (UNFSS+4) in Addis Ababa, indicates that between 638 and 720 million people faced hunger in 2024. It stated that based on the point estimate of 673 million, the figure represents a decrease of 15 million people from 2023 and of 22 million from 2022. The summit, which started on July 27, ended yesterday, July 29, with critical stakeholders across the world in attendance.

The latest estimates remain above pre-pandemic levels, with the high food inflation of recent years contributing to the slow recovery in food security. It highlighted that notable improvements were seen in southern Asia and Latin America.

But the Prevalence of Undernourishment (PoU) in Asia fell from 7.9 per cent in 2022 to 6.7 per cent, or 323 million people, in 2024. Additionally, Latin America and the Caribbean as a region saw the PoU fall to 5.1 per cent, or 34 million people, in 2024, down from a peak of 6.1 per cent in 2020.

But this positive trend contrasts sharply with the steady rise in hunger across Africa and western Asia, including in many countries affected by prolonged food crises. The proportion of the population facing hunger in Africa, the report highlighted, surpassed 20 per cent in 2024, affecting 307 million people, while in western Asia, an estimated 12.7 per cent of the population, or more than 39 million people, may have faced hunger in 2024.

It, however, projected that 512 million people could be chronically undernourished by 2030, adding that almost 60 per cent of those will be in Africa.