What countries are worst affected by Hunger?
It has been estimated that right now there are approximately 800 million people in the world who are suffering from chronic undernourishment. Despite progress being made on this front, it is still a tough battle to eradicate hunger entirely from the world. However, there is a disparity among nations regarding the Global Hunger Index, with the African nations being the most affected and some even falling in the alarming or serious hunger situation.
According to Global Hunger Index (GHI) scores, the hunger situation was extremely dire in the Central African Republic (CAR). According to the data, CAR has a score of 50.9.
The Global Hunger Index lists the countries from 0 to 100 (0 meaning that there is no hunger, and those with 100 are the most severely affected). However, both of these extreme situations are never reached. Further, the list has been divided into sections. The situation is ‘alarming’ in countries which fall in the range of 35-to-50. The situation is ‘serious’ in countries in the range of 20-to-35. In countries, where the range is from 10-to-20, the situation is considered ‘moderate,’ while the countries having a score that is below 10, reportedly have the fewest number of people suffering from hunger.
The hunger situation in the African nation of Chad was equally alarming as that of the CAR. The second most affected country in the world, Chad had a Global Hunger Index score of 43.5. Other countries where the situation was alarming include; Sierra Leone, Yemen, Madagascar, Sudan, Liberia, and Zambia, where the index score ranged between 35 and 39.
Among the countries where the situation is ‘serious,’ Niger stood at the top. The country’s Global Hunger Index score in 2017 was 34.8, while that in Timor-Leste it was 34.5. Some of the other countries where the situation is serious are; Afghanistan, Pakistan, North Korea, India, Bangladesh and Rwanda to name a few. Guatemala and the Philippines were placed at the bottom of the category where the situation was serious with a score of 20.7 and 20, respectively. However, barring Guatemala, all the other countries in the serious category are located in Asia or Africa.
Nations such as Argentina, Belarus, Brazil, Cuba, Ukraine, China, Russia, Malaysia, and many other nations witnessed a very low Global Hunger Index score. In these nations, the score in 2017 stood below 10.
The data provides information on the Global Hunger Index score per country.
| Rank | Country | Global Hunger Index Score |
| 1 | Central African Republic | 50.9 |
| 2 | Chad | 43.5 |
| 3 | Sierra Leone | 38.5 |
| 4 | Madagascar | 38.3 |
| 5 | Zambia | 38.2 |
| 6 | Yemen | 36.1 |
| 7 | Sudan | 35.5 |
| 8 | Liberia | 35.3 |
| 9 | Niger | 34.5 |
| 10 | Timor-Leste | 34.3 |
| 11 | Haiti | 34.2 |
| 12 | Zimbabwe | 33.8 |
| 13 | Afghanistan | 33.3 |
| 14 | Pakistan | 32.6 |
| 15 | Angola | 32.5 |
| 16 | Ethiopia | 32.3 |
| 17 | Uganda | 32 |
| 18 | Djibouti | 31.4 |
| 19 | India | 31.4 |
| 20 | Rwanda | 31.4 |
| 21 | Guinea-Bissau | 30.6 |
| 22 | Mozambique | 30.5 |
| 23 | Tanzania | 28.8 |
| 24 | Tajikistan | 28.7 |
| 25 | Guinea | 28.6 |
| 26 | Mali | 28.6 |
| 27 | North Korea | 28.2 |
| 28 | Burkina Faso | 27.6 |
| 29 | Laos | 27.5 |
| 30 | Malawi | 27.2 |
| 31 | Bangladesh | 26.5 |
| 32 | Côte d’Ivoire | 26.5 |
| 33 | Namibia | 25.7 |
| 34 | Democratic Republic of Congo | 25.6 |
| 35 | Nigeria | 25.5 |
| 36 | Sri Lanka | 25.5 |
| 37 | Mauritania | 25.2 |
| 38 | Benin | 24.4 |
| 39 | Botswana | 24.4 |
| 40 | Lesotho | 24.1 |
| 41 | Gambia | 23.2 |
| 42 | Iraq | 22.9 |
| 43 | Myanmar | 22.6 |
| 44 | Togo | 22.5 |
| 45 | Cambodia | 22.2 |
| 46 | Cameroon | 22.1 |
| 47 | Indonesia | 22 |
| 48 | Nepal | 22 |
| 49 | eSwatini | 21.2 |
| 50 | Kenya | 21 |
| 51 | Guatemala | 20.7 |
| 52 | Philippines | 20 |
| 53 | Senegal | 18.4 |
| 54 | Bolivia | 17.2 |
| 55 | Ghana | 16.2 |
| 56 | Vietnam | 16 |
| 57 | Egypt | 14.7 |
| 58 | Ecuador | 14.4 |
| 59 | Honduras | 14.3 |
| 60 | Gabon | 13.8 |
| 61 | Guyana | 13.7 |
| 62 | Nicaragua | 13.6 |
| 63 | Mongolia | 13.4 |
| 64 | Mauritius | 13.3 |
| 65 | South Africa | 13.2 |
| 66 | Uzbekistan | 13.1 |
| 67 | Venezuela | 13 |
| 68 | Turkmenistan | 12.2 |
| 69 | Dominican Republic | 11.6 |
| 70 | Oman | 11.3 |
| 71 | Albania | 11.1 |
| 72 | El Salvador | 11.1 |
| 73 | Paraguay | 11 |
| 74 | Thailand | 10.6 |
| 75 | Malaysia | 10.2 |
| 76 | Morocco | 10.2 |
| 77 | Suriname | 9.9 |
| 78 | Azerbaijan | 9.6 |
| 79 | Algeria | 9.5 |
| 80 | Kyrgyz Republic | 9.3 |
| 81 | Panama | 9.2 |
| 82 | Peru | 8.7 |
| 83 | Fiji | 8.1 |
| 84 | Lebanon | 8.1 |
| 85 | Colombia | 8 |
| 86 | Jamaica | 8 |
| 87 | Armenia | 7.7 |
| 88 | Georgia | 7.7 |
| 89 | Iran | 7.6 |
| 90 | Moldova | 7.6 |
| 91 | China | 7.5 |
| 92 | Tunisia | 7.4 |
| 93 | Saudi Arabia | 7.1 |
| 94 | Trinidad & Tobago | 6.9 |
| 95 | Jordan | 6.7 |
| 96 | Serbia | 6.6 |
| 97 | Mexico | 6.5 |
| 98 | Russian Federation | 6.2 |
| 99 | Kazakhstan | 5.8 |
| 100 | Argentina | 5.4 |
| 101 | Brazil | 5.4 |
| 102 | Bulgaria | 5.4 |
| 103 | Costa Rica | 5.3 |
| 104 | Macedonia | 5.3 |
| 105 | Romania | 5.2 |
| 106 | Belarus | <5 |
| 107 | Bosnia & Herzegovina | <5 |
| 108 | Chile | <5 |
| 109 | Croatia | <5 |
| 110 | Cuba | <5 |
| 111 | Estonia | <5 |
| 112 | Kuwait | <5 |
| 113 | Latvia | <5 |
| 114 | Lithuania | <5 |
| 115 | Montenegro | <5 |
| 116 | Slovak Republic | <5 |
| 117 | Turkey | <5 |
| 118 | Ukraine | <5 |
| 119 | Uruguay | <5 |
Note: GHI scores are not calculated for some high-income countries where the prevalence of hunger is very low.
Know more:
Related Maps:
