Africa has overtaken Asia as the continent with the largest number of people facing hunger for the first time, according to a new United Nations report, highlighting the growing challenge of undernourishment across the region despite gradual global progress.
Gatekeepers News reports that the UN’s annual report on food security and nutrition, released on Tuesday, showed that while hunger has continued to decline globally in recent years, progress has been uneven, with Africa experiencing a steady increase in the number of undernourished people.
“The centre of gravity of hunger has shifted from Asia to Africa,” said David Laborde, Director of the Agrifood Economics Division at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
“Twenty-five years ago China still had a problem with hunger, but they solved them; India also has a problem, but they are putting lots of effort into actively resolving it,” he told AFP.
The report, prepared jointly by the FAO and four other UN agencies, estimated that 309 million people in Africa experienced hunger in 2025, representing about 20 percent of the continent’s population.
Asia followed with 292 million people facing hunger, accounting for about six percent of its population.
Globally, the proportion of people affected by hunger declined from 8.6 percent in 2022 to 7.8 percent in 2025. According to the UN agencies, that translates to 645 million people worldwide, about 43 million fewer than in previous estimates. However, the figure remains higher than pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels.
The report noted that although the prevalence of undernourishment in Africa has risen steadily since 2017, the latest estimates suggest the trend may be beginning to reverse in 2025.
Healthy Diet Remains Out of Reach for Millions
The UN agencies also expressed concern over worsening access to nutritious food across the continent.
According to the report, the proportion of Africans unable to afford a healthy diet has increased since 2021, even as affordability has improved in other parts of the world.
About 66.6 percent of Africans—roughly two-thirds of the population—cannot afford a healthy diet, more than twice the proportion recorded in Asia.
The report urged African governments to prioritise reforms in the animal-source food sector, describing it as the region’s most expensive food category and a key area for improving nutrition.
Conflict, Climate Change Worsening Food Crisis
The report attributed Africa’s worsening food insecurity to a combination of climate-related disasters and prolonged conflicts that have disrupted farming and livelihoods.
“Conflicts like the one in Sudan… in the Democratic Republic of Congo, also weigh heavily on people who cannot access their land or no longer have any income,” Laborde said.
The UN warned in May that about 20 million people are facing acute food insecurity as a result of the conflict in Sudan.
It also cautioned in June that a prolonged conflict in the Middle East could push millions more people into acute hunger.
Laborde said the effects of rising energy and fertiliser costs linked to the conflict have so far remained limited but warned that the situation remains uncertain.
The report underscores the urgent need for stronger investment in food systems, climate resilience and conflict resolution to reverse the continent’s growing hunger burden.
