FAO: 7.8% of the global population undernourished in 2025 - Press Conference | United Nations

Briefing reporters in New York on the findings of the 2026 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Chief Economist Máximo Torero said, “the latest estimates indicates that 7.8 percent of the global population was undernourished in 2025, equivalent to 645 million people.” Torero said these figures compare with 8.1 percent in 2024 and 8.6 percent in 2022, “which means in terms of numbers, that there has been a reduction of 40 million between 2024 and 2025 and 43 million compared with a 2022 peak.” However, he noted “the numbers remain approximately 50 million higher than in 2015, when the SDGs were adopted.” The FAO official noted that “important inequalities also persist” and said, “moderate or severe food insecurity affected approximately 30 percent of the population in rural areas, compared to 22 percent in urban areas, and it also affected in the 24 percent of women, compared to 23 percent of men.” He told reporters that for the first time the prevalence in Africa has been reduced, which he said, “is good news,” but pointed out that “the absolute numbers are increasing even more that Asia because of the population growth and the conflicts and the different problems that this region is facing.” Torero emphasized “the importance of increasing the access and affordability to healthy diets, because 2.7 billion people is creating significant problems to health because of undernourishment and overnutrition.”


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