World’s hungriest countries – ranked

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A global ranking of the world’s hungriest countries, using the latest report from the Global Hunger Index.

Map of the world’s hungriest countries
The world’s hungriest countries (GHI/CC BY-4.0)

The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is an annual report produced to measure hunger around the world.

The report creates GHI scores for 107 countries, based on a formula that captures three dimensions of hunger: insufficient caloric intake, child undernutrition and child mortality.

This measured using four key indicators:

  • Undernourishment: the share of the population that is undernourished, reflecting insufficient caloric intake.
  • Child wasting: the share of children under the age of five who are wasted (low weight-for-height), reflecting acute undernutrition.
  • Child stunting: the share of children under the age of five who are stunted (low height-for-age), reflecting chronic undernutrition.
  • Child mortality: the mortality rate of children under the age of five.

Data for these indicators is sourced from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, the World Bank, Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and the United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME).

Each country’s GHI score is converted into a classification that reflects the level of hunger the population is suffering from.

GHI Severity Scale

  • ≤ 9.9: low
  • 10.0–19.9: moderate
  • 20.0–34.9: serious
  • 35.0–49.9: alarming
  • ≥ 50.0: extremely alarming

Key findings from the report

  • Worldwide hunger is at a moderate level.
  • Chad is the world’s hungriest country in 2020.
  • Nearly 690 million people are undernourished.
  • 144 million children suffer from stunting, a sign of chronic undernutrition.
  • 47 million children suffer from wasting, a sign of acute undernutrition.
  • Extreme climatic events, violent conflicts, wars and economic slowdowns and crises continue to drive hunger in many parts of the world.
  • Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia have the highest regional 2019 GHI scores in the world, at 29.3 and 28.4, respectively.
  • No countries (zero) are suffering from extremely alarming levels of hunger, compared to four in 2019.
  • Three countries are suffering from alarming levels of hunger – Chad, Timor-Leste, and Madagascar.
  • However, there are a further eight countries with insufficient data – Burundi, Central African Republic, Comoros, DR Congo, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, and Yemen – who are also likely to be suffering from alarming levels of hunger.
  • Another 31 countries considered to be suffering from serious levels of hunger.

World’s hungriest countries – complete ranking

The table below ranks the world’s hungriest countries according to the GHI Severity Scale.

17 countries had GHI scores less than five. They collectively ranked 101–117 as differences between their scores were minimal.

GHI scores were not calculated for countries with insufficient data, high-income countries, countries with small populations and non-independent territories.

RankCountry2000200620122020
1Chad50.951.347.944.7
2Timor-Leste46.136.237.6
3Madagascar42.741.434.636
4Haiti41.943.635.933.5
5Mozambique48.138.431.433.1
6Liberia484033.131.4
7Sierra Leone58.353.342.430.9
8Lesotho3630.424.630.7
9Afghanistan5142.833.830.3
10Nigeria40.634.13229.2
11Rwanda49.738.12628.3
12North Korea39.533.128.227.5
13India38.937.529.327.2
14Sudan32.527.2
15Angola64.94735.926.8
16Ethiopia53.743.635.526.2
17Congo33.834.727.826
18Burkina Faso45.746.331.125.8
19Tanzania40.833.63025
20Pakistan37.233.532.824.6
21Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)33.634.730.124.5
22Togo39.336.726.624.1
23Mauritania322923.724
24Kenya37.431.423.223.7
25Venezuela14.711.27.623.5
26Mali41.93731.322.9
27Botswana28.2027.322.422.6
28Malawi43.2033.827.122.6
29Benin34.1028.724.222.4
30Myanmar39.8031.823.320.9
31Guatemala28.5024.622.220.7
32Cambodia41.2027.224.920.6
33Bangladesh34.102927.820.4
34Eswatini26.1024.117.820.3
35Nepal37.403122.819.5
36Cameroon36.403123.219.1
37Indonesia26.1029.523.119.1
38Namibia25.3024.723.919.1
39Philippines25.0020.420.419
40Gabon21.1020.418.818.2
41Gambia29.202822.717.8
42Iraq24.002421.117.1
43Senegal34.3024.41817.1
44Sri Lanka21.9019.520.116.3
45Ghana28.5022.217.915.2
46Bolivia27.6023.216.814
47Vietnam26.3021.916.513.6
48South Africa18.4019.415.313.5
49Malaysia15.5013.311.813.3
50Nicaragua22.3017.114.613.2
51Honduras21.9019.716.913.1
52Mongolia30.1023.112.713.1
53Oman14.801611.612.2
54Egypt16.4014.415.311.9
55Guyana17.3015.812.211.1
56Turkmenistan21.2016.613.611.1
57Ecuador19.701916.311
58El Salvador14.7012.110.410.5
59Suriname15.5011.710.510.2
60Thailand17.8012.312.710.2
61Mauritius15.0013.612.39.3
62Algeria14.5011.799
63Lebanon11.6013.312.48.9
64Morocco15.5017.59.68.9
65Jordan10.808.18.68.8
66Kyrgyzstan18.4013.911.78.4
67Jamaica8.6099.28.1
68Fiji9.609.18.18
69Iran13.508.97.67.9
70Mexico10.108.47.47.7
71Colombia10.9011.59.17.5
72Paraguay12.1011.69.67.5
73Saudi Arabia11.1012.28.27.5
74Peru20.8016.58.97.3
75Panama18.50159.87.2
76Dominican Rep.15.2013.910.37.1
77Armenia19.4013.410.46.9
78Uzbekistan24.4016.912.76.7
79Serbia6.15.36.6
80Trinidad & Tob.11.1011.410.86.6
81Slovakia6.505.9<56.4
82Georgia12.308.9<56.1
83Azerbaijan25.001610.66
84Albania20.7015.88.55.9
85Tunisia10.307.875.7
86Bulgaria8.207.37.85.5
87Kazakhstan11.4012.38.15.4
88Argentina6.305.65.25.3
89North Macedonia7.507.76.75.2
90Russia10.006.865.2
Belarus<5<5<5<5
Bosnia & Herz.9.306.7<5<5
Brazil11.306.3<5<5
Chile<5<5<5<5
China13.609.5<5<5
Costa Rica6.10<5<5<5
Croatia<5<5<5<5
Cuba<5<5<5<5
Estonia5.90<5<5<5
Kuwait<5<5<5<5
Latvia7.00<5<5<5
Lithuania6.10<5<5<5
Montenegro5.5<5<5
Romania8.005.5<5<5
Turkey10.106.3<5<5
Ukraine13.00<5<5<5
Uruguay7.506.85<5

Source: Global Hunger Index