By Vatican News

The UN says that 673 million people experienced hunger in 2024, equivalent to 8.3 percent of the global population.

According to the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI 2025) report, published on 28 July, global hunger has declined; however, it is rising in certain regions, including Africa and Western Asia.

The SOFI 2025 report was produced with the findings of five specialized agencies of the United Nations, namely the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP), and the World Health Organization (WHO).

The report is the annual global monitoring report for Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 targets 2.1 and 2.2, which are concerned with ending hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition in all its forms. It also presents the latest updated numbers on hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition, as well as new estimates on the affordability of a healthy diet.

In 2024, an estimated 2.8 billion people faced moderate or severe food insecurity.

The worst-affected continent is Africa, where some 307 million people, which is to say over 20% of its population, faced hunger.

High food inflation in recent years has slowed recovery, making it harder for people, especially low-income populations, to access healthy diets.

A major concern, particularly for children under five, is malnutrition.

Malnutrition, the report notes, contributes to a significant portion of deaths, and can lead to both under-nutrition and obesity.