Africa Now Has World’s Highest Hunger Burden, UN Report Says

Africa has overtaken Asia as the continent with the largest number of people facing hunger, according to a new United Nations food security report released on Tuesday.

The report, produced by the Food and Agriculture Organisation and four other UN agencies, estimated that 309 million people in Africa faced hunger in 2025. That represents about 20 percent of the continent’s population.

Asia had 292 million people affected by hunger, about six percent of its population. David Laborde, director of the FAO’s agrifood economics division, said the centre of hunger had shifted from Asia to Africa.

The UN agencies said the global share of people facing hunger fell from 8.6 percent in 2022 to 7.8 percent in 2025. The number of undernourished people also dropped by about 43 million to 645 million.

Even with that improvement, the total remains above the level recorded before the COVID-19 pandemic. The report also said Africa’s undernourishment rate has been rising since 2017, although early 2025 estimates suggest the pace of increase may be slowing.

The findings place African governments under renewed pressure over food prices, conflict, climate shocks and weak rural safety nets, all of which continue to shape household access to food across the continent.

Sources: Punch, Channels TV