The Global Food Crisis Report 2026 (GRFC) confirmed a famine at two sites during 2025 – in areas of the Gaza Strip and Sudan – in the first double confirmation of its kind since official famine reports began.
And the annual report, prepared by a coalition of 18 humanitarian and development partners, noted that acute food insecurity remained widespread throughout 2025.
In 47 food-crisis countries and territories, 22.9% of the population – around 266 million people – faced acute food insecurity last year, up slightly from 22.7% in 2024, but nearly double the 11.3% recorded in 2016.
And the proportion of the population suffering from acute hunger has remained above 20% annually since 2020. In absolute terms, the number of people affected increased from 108 million in 2016 to 265.7 million in 2025, after peaking at 281.6 million in 2023.
The report warned that the slight decrease in the overall figure compared to 2024 is mainly due to the reduction in the number of countries covered (from 53 to 47), and not to an actual decline in needs.
Famine, disaster and emergency
Famine – the highest level in the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system – was confirmed in parts of the Gaza Strip and Sudan during 2025. The risk of famine also remained in other areas of Gaza, Sudan and South Sudan, with this expected to continue until 2026.
According to the IPC system, famine is declared when:
Six countries and territories recorded a population living in “catastrophic conditions” (Phase V), the highest in the rankings, at 1.4 million people, a more than nine-fold increase since 2016.
The Gaza Strip was the hardest hit, with 640,700 people facing famine conditions, equivalent to 32% of the population, the highest percentage recorded globally. Sudan came second with 637,200 people, about 1% of the population.
Four other countries have recorded catastrophic food shortages among specific groups:
In addition, more than 39 million people in 32 countries were in Phase IV (emergency), representing 3.8% of the population covered, a slight increase from 2024.
Conflict remains the main driver of hunger
Conflict and violence remained the primary cause of acute food insecurity in 19 countries, affecting 147.4 million people, more than half of those suffering from acute hunger globally.
And extreme weather was second, affecting 87.5 million people in 16 countries, while economic shocks were the main factor in 12 countries, affecting 29.8 million people.
And in this context, the report pointed to the decline in humanitarian and development funding for areas affected by food crises during 2025, to return to 2016-2017 levels.
For 2026, the report, based on data as of March, confirmed that risk levels remain high in several regions, warning that the escalation of conflict in the Middle East increases the risk of disrupting global food and agricultural markets directly and indirectly.
A generation of malnourished children
An estimated 35.5 million children were acutely malnourished in 23 countries in 2025, with nearly 10 million suffering from severe acute malnutrition, the most serious form.
Some 25.7 million children suffered from moderate acute malnutrition, and 9.2 million pregnant or breastfeeding women were acutely malnourished in 21 countries for which data are available.
Displacement is concentrated in countries affected by food crises
The number of forcibly displaced people in 46 reporting countries decreased slightly in 2025 to 85.1 million.
Of these, some 62.6 million were internally displaced in 34 countries, while refugees and asylum seekers numbered 22.5 million in 44 countries.
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