A landmark shift in global hunger patterns has seen Africa overtake Asia as the continent with the highest number of people facing food insecurity, according to a United Nations report released on Tuesday.

The annual report on food security and nutrition found that 309 million people in Africa experienced hunger last year, representing 20% of the continent’s population. This surpasses Asia, where 292 million people faced hunger, or 6% of the population.

Two decades of changing hunger patterns

David Laborde, director of the agrifood economics division at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), described the development as a shift in “the centre of gravity of hunger” from Asia to Africa.

“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,” Laborde said.

The report, compiled by the FAO and four other UN agencies, noted that whilst global hunger has decreased from 8.6% in 2022 to 7.8% in 2025, the total number of 645 million people facing hunger remains higher than pre-Covid pandemic levels.

Economic barriers to healthy diets

The situation in Africa is compounded by economic challenges, with two-thirds of Africans (66.6%) unable to afford a healthy diet – more than double the level in Asia. This percentage has increased since 2021, whilst other regions have seen improvements.

The report encouraged African nations to prioritise transforming the animal source food sector, identified as the most expensive food group in the region.

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Climate and conflict drive crisis

Severe climate-related shocks and ongoing conflicts have aggravated Africa’s hunger crisis. Laborde highlighted the devastating impact of conflicts in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, where people cannot access their land or have lost their income.

The UN warned in May that 20 million people face acute food insecurity due to the war in Sudan alone. In June, the organisation cautioned that a prolonged Middle East war could push millions more into acute hunger.

Whilst the impact of rising energy and fertiliser costs from global conflicts “remain limited for the moment”, Laborde noted the crisis is not yet over.

Despite the concerning figures, the UN agencies pointed to signs of a potential turnaround in Africa’s undernourishment rates in 2025, following a rising trend since 2017.

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