Global Report on Food Crises 2026: Over 266 million people across 47 countries face severe food insecurity

Global Report on Food Crises 2026: Over 266 million people across 47 countries face severe food insecurity

Global Report on Food Crises 2026 highlights a worsening global hunger crisis, with over 266 million people facing acute food insecurity across 47 countries.The GRFC 2026 is the 10th edition of the flagship global assessment of acute food insecurity.It was released by a coalition including the United Nations, European Union, Germany, the UK, Ireland, and other international and humanitarian agencies.The report analyses food crises using standardized frameworks like IPC/CH to assess severity, drivers, and trends.

Key Findings of the Report

Scale and Trends of Hunger:

¨     Around 266 million people (22.9%) in 47 countries faced high levels of acute food insecurity in 2025.

¨     The proportion has remained above 20% since 2020 and is nearly double compared to 2016, indicating persistent structural distress.

¨     The apparent stability from 2024 is misleading due to reduced country coverage, not actual improvement.

Geographic Concentration of Crisis:

¨     Two-thirds of the global food-insecure population is concentrated in just 10 countries, including: Afghanistan, DRC, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Yemen, and Bangladesh.

¨     Afghanistan, South Sudan, Sudan, and Yemen face the most severe crises in both proportion and absolute numbers.

Rising Severity: Catastrophe and Emergency Levels:

¨     1.4 million people across six countries are in Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5) — a ninefold increase since 2016.

¨     An additional 39 million people in 32 countries are in the Emergency (Phase 4) category.

¨     These levels indicate extreme food deprivation, starvation risk, and mortality.

Child Malnutrition and Nutrition Crisis:

¨     35.5 million children were acutely malnourished in 2025, including 10 million with severe acute malnutrition.

¨     Nearly half of food-crisis contexts also face a nutrition crisis, driven by poor diets, disease, and weak health systems.

Conflict as the Primary Driver:

¨     Conflict and insecurity are now the leading drivers of hunger, overtaking climate shocks.

¨     In 2025, 147.4 million people (56%) in 19 countries were affected due to conflict — more than double since 2018.

¨     Famines were declared in Gaza and parts of Sudan, marking the first instance of multiple famine declarations in one year.

Role of Climate and Extreme Heat:

¨     Extreme weather affected 87.5 million people in 2025, though its relative contribution has declined.

Reports by Food and Agriculture Organization and World Meteorological Organization warn that extreme heat is emerging as a major risk multiplier:

¨     Crop yields decline sharply beyond 30°C.

¨     Each 1°C risereduces yields of major crops (wheat, rice, maize, soybean) by ~6%.

¨     Heat stress reduces livestock productivity (e.g., 15–25% fall in milk yield).

¨     Marine heatwaves (91% of oceans in 2024) threaten fisheries.

Agrifood Systems Under Stress

¨     Heat disrupts plant growth cycles (e.g., pollen sterility in rice and maize) and increases respiration losses.

¨     Example: In Morocco, drought plus heat caused over 40% decline in cereal yields and collapse of key crops.

¨     Extreme heat is reshaping what, when, and whether food can be produced.

¨  Forced Displacement and Vulnerability: Displacement continues to intensify food insecurity by disrupting livelihoods, access to food, and humanitarian support.