7 World Hunger Stats You Need to Know

On World Food Day, here are seven statistics about hunger that you might not know.

Globally hunger has fallen from 18.7 percent in the early 1990s to 11.3 percent today. In developing countries, it has dropped from 23.4 to 13.5 percent.

1 in 8 people go to bed hungry every night. More than 800 million people do not have the food they need for a healthy life.

Almost 5 million children under the age of 5 die of malnutrition-related causes each year. In fact, 4 in 10 children in poor countries are malnourished and will suffer damage to their brains and bodies as a result.

98 percent of the world’s hungry live in developing countries. Asia has the most hungry people—two-thirds of the total. But Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest prevalence of hunger. One in 4 there is undernourished.

1/3 of the food produced in the world is never consumed. Most of the waste comes from inadequate food production systems in developing countries. Much of it could be saved through better farming techniques, post-harvest storage, management resources, and stronger market connections.

Even in the U.S., 1 in 7 people do not have enough to eat. Despite the national wealth, numerous circumstances led to individual Americans and families suffering from hunger.

4.5 million meals were provided through Global Hunger Relief ministries in North America. This resulted in more than 21,000 professions of faith.