Pakistan has the second-highest hunger score in South Asia, behind only Afghanistan, according to the 2026 Global Hunger Index (GHI), which classifies hunger in the country as serious.
Pakistan scored 25.5 out of 100 and ranked 106th among 122 countries with sufficient data, highlighting persistent food insecurity and child malnutrition.
Pakistan’s hunger score has improved significantly over the longer term, falling from 36.2 in 2000 to 25.5 in 2026. However, the report shows that the score rose from 24.0 in 2018 to 25.5 in 2026, making Pakistan one of only two South Asian countries, alongside Afghanistan, where hunger has worsened since 2018.
The report puts Pakistan’s undernourishment rate at 16.1 percent, meaning that this share of the population does not receive enough calories. Among children under five, 33.6 percent are stunted, reflecting chronic undernutrition, while 9.8 percent suffer from wasting, an indicator of acute undernutrition. The under-five mortality rate stands at 5.6 percent.
The report links Pakistan’s food security challenges to economic instability, the lasting effects of sharp food price increases and climate-related shocks. Heavy monsoon rains and flash floods in 2025 affected more than six million people and damaged farmland and infrastructure, while reduced household purchasing power has constrained access to food.
South Asia’s Hunger Burden
South Asia recorded a GHI score of 23.5, the second-highest regional level after sub-Saharan Africa, which scored 27.5. Afghanistan scored 28.6, while India scored 24.1 and Bangladesh 19.2. Nepal scored 14.5, while Sri Lanka recorded 10.2.
The report estimates that 218 million people in South Asia, including Iran, were undernourished during 2023–2025, representing roughly one-third of the global total.
Although the region has made substantial progress since 2000, much of the improvement occurred before 2018. Undernourishment has remained largely unchanged since then, while child wasting has worsened to 15.8 percent, the highest regional rate worldwide.
Global Hunger Worsens After Years of Progress
Globally, the GHI score rose to 18.1 in 2026 from 17.6 in 2018, reversing part of the progress made since 2000, when the score stood at 28.2. The report attributes the deterioration to overlapping conflicts, climate extremes, economic shocks and disruptions to global food and agricultural supply chains.
Hunger has worsened in 32 countries since 2018, while 36 countries face serious levels of hunger and eight have alarming levels. The report estimates that 645 million people worldwide were undernourished in 2025.
The report warns that conflict, rising food and transport costs, extreme weather and reduced humanitarian funding are putting further pressure on food systems. It also cautions that an intensifying El Niño could worsen food and nutrition security in vulnerable regions.
The Global Hunger Index measures hunger using four indicators: undernourishment, child stunting, child wasting and child mortality. Its 2026 findings are based on data covering the 2021–2025 period.
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