733 Million Faced Hunger in 2023: UN Report

Approximately 733 million individuals faced hunger in 2023, according to the latest State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report released by the Food and Agriculture Organization and other United Nations agencies. The reported figure is equivalent to one in eleven globally and one in five in Africa faced hunger.

The key findings of the report include the following:

• around 2.33 billion people globally faced moderate or severe food insecurity, wherein over 864 million people experienced severe food insecurity, going without food for an entire day or more at times
• lack of economic access to healthy diets also remains a critical issue, affecting over one-third of the global population
• progress has been made in increasing exclusive breastfeeding rates among infants to 48%, achieving global nutrition targets will be a challenge
• new estimates of adult obesity show a steady increase over the last decade, from 12.1 percent (2012) to 15.8 percent (2022)

"Transforming agrifood systems is more critical than ever as we face the urgency of achieving the SDGs within six short years. FAO remains committed to supporting countries in their efforts to eradicate hunger and ensure food security for all. We will work together with all partners and with all approaches, including the G20 Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty, to accelerate the needed change. Together, we must innovate and collaborate to build more efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable agrifood systems that can better withstand future challenges for a better world," said FAO Director General, QU Dongyu.

Read the media release and report from FAO.