New figures released by United Nations on Tuesday show a modest decline in the number of people experiencing hunger globally, demonstrating that progress is possible in the fight against hunger.
The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report estimates that 645 million people experienced hunger in 2025, down from the previous year. The decline is largely driven by improvements in Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean, which have shown steady recovery over several consecutive years.
However, despite this progress, the report makes clear that the number of people experiencing hunger is still significantly higher than before COVID-19; and that the world remains far from achieving zero hunger by 2030 – one of the key Sustainable Development Goals outlined by the UN.
This is particularly true for Africa where one out of five people, or 20.0 percent, faced hunger in 2025, compared to 6.0 percent of the population in Asia, 4.8 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean, 8.0 percent in Oceania and less than 2.5 percent in North America and Europe.
Approximately one in 12 people globally continue to experience hunger.
The report also focuses on the high cost of healthy diets which remain out of reach for billions, revealing a healthy diet costs 24 percent more now than it did just five years ago.
The percentage of people unable to afford a healthy diet remains highest in Africa (66.6 percent), more than double that in Asia (28.9 percent) and Latin America and the Caribbean (25.7 percent).
“Any decrease in the number of people facing hunger globally is welcome news, particularly for the millions of families whose lives are directly affected,” says Canadian Foodgrains Bank executive director Andy Harrington. “For those families, not having to worry about where their next meal will come from is a weight lifted.”
While this report focuses on long-term chronic levels of hunger, emergency food needs are also important to consider. In several countries experiencing conflict, displacement, or severe climate-related shocks, including Sudan and Gaza, hunger conditions are worsening and humanitarian needs continue to rise.
“The reality behind the global figure is complex,” says Harrington. “While some countries are making important gains, others are moving in the opposite direction. We cannot overlook communities where hunger is deepening simply because the overall global trend has improved.”
“We know there are steps we can take to reduce hunger. And communities around the world (like the ones our members’ local partners are working in) are already putting those solutions into practice,” says Foodgrains Bank director of public policy Carol Thiessen. “The real challenge is ensuring those communities receive the investment needed to drive even more impact. At a time when hunger is still wide-spread, making cuts to global aid risks reversing the progress that has been made.”
As governments around the world, including Canada, prepare for the final stretch toward the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals deadline, Foodgrains Bank is calling for increased investment in official development assistance and locally-based partnership solutions.
“These results remind us that progress is possible in the fight against global hunger,” says Thiessen. “But isolated progress will not be enough if millions more are still at risk . We need coordinated action to ensure no person or family is left behind in the fight against global hunger.”
In 2025-26, the Foodgrains Bank provided nearly $55.7 million of assistance for 1,160,441 people in 34 countries, including emergency and long-term support.
