Hunger levels are set to worsen in 13 of the world’s hungriest countries between June and October 2025. According to the latest UN Hunger Hotspots (June 2025), countries most at risk of hunger are:
- Highest concern: Sudan, Occupied Palestinian Territories, South Sudan, Haiti and Mali
- Very high concern: Yemen, Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar and Nigeria
- Other hunger hotspots: Burkina Faso, Chad, Somalia and Syria
We’ve summarised key findings from the latest UN report, which examined hunger and food insecurity in hunger hotspots between June and October 2025.
Explore the world’s hungriest countries to learn more about country-specific hunger levels and understand what’s causing hunger in UN-declared hotspots.
Countries with highest hunger levels
The UN has declared the countries with the worst hunger in the world as Sudan, South Sudan, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Mali and Haiti.
In these countries, either:
- people are at risk of famine or famine has been declared and hunger is at catastrophic conditions
- hunger is getting worse and approaching catastrophic conditions
When hunger is catastrophic, at least 1 in 5 households have an extreme lack of food and basic necessities and starvation and death are at extremely high levels.
Hunger is at emergency levels when people can’t meet their daily food needs and there’s widespread malnutrition and death, or when households can only get enough food with the help of emergency support.
Crisis levels of hunger are met when households can’t meet their daily food needs and those gaps are reflected by high malnutrition rates, or people are getting just enough food to survive – but only by sacrificing their livelihoods.
Sudan
Approximately 24.6 million people in Sudan were projected to face crisis levels of food insecurity or above between December 2024 and May 2025, with projections of:
- 637,000 people facing catastrophic levels of hunger
- 8.1 million people facing emergency levels of hunger
Famine-level food insecurity is present in at least five regions of Sudan – mostly in North Darfur, including Zamzam, Ar Salaam and Abu Shouk refugee camps.
The UN is projecting that five more regions of Sudan will face famine, while IPC data from November 2025 names 20 other areas that are at risk of famine. And the hunger crisis is set to get worse – especially in North Darfur and Kordofan.
The risk of famine is expected to force more Sudanese families to leave their homes beyond those who are already displaced within Sudan or have sought safety in neighbouring countries like South Sudan and Chad.
Causes of hunger in Sudan
Hunger and malnutrition in Sudan are being driven by:
- Ongoing conflict: escalating violence has caused destruction to markets and disruption of food supply chains
- Displacement: 8 million people are internally displaced, losing their livelihoods and income
- Limited humanitarian access: 30.4 million people in Sudan need humanitarian aid, but access is severely restricted
A Sudanese family fleeing conflict in Sudan
Occupied Palestinian Territories
The UN project the whole population of the Gaza Strip – 2.1 million people – will face crisis-level hunger or above between May and September 2025, including:
- 470,000 people facing catastrophic hunger levels
- over one million people facing emergency hunger levels
Since the Hunger Hotspots report was published in June 2025, famine in Gaza has now been declared. People are dying of starvation and families are reporting using extreme coping strategies to get enough food.
Causes of hunger in Occupied Palestinian Territories
- Conflict: limited humanitarian aid has reached Gaza since conflict broke out, leaving people starving
- Destruction of agriculture: approximately 80% of croplands in Gaza have been damaged
- Rising food prices: the price of basic food items since the blockade in March 2025 has significantly increased
A Palestinian child facing extreme hunger waiting for food aid in Gaza
South Sudan
Around 7.7 million people in South Sudan were projected to face crisis levels of food insecurity between December 2024 and May 2025, with:
- 665,000 people facing catastrophic hunger levels
- 2.5 million people facing emergency hunger levels
The UN expects catastrophic hunger in South Sudan to spread, especially in the Upper Nile, Jonglei and Unity regions of the country.
The arrival of returnees and refugees from Sudan is ongoing. Lack of resources to support displaced people is putting pressure on existing South Sudanese communities, who are already struggling to find enough food to survive.
Causes of hunger in South Sudan
High hunger levels in South Sudan are being driven by:
- Economic instability: in March 2025, food prices were five times higher than the previous year
- Conflict: violence is escalating across South Sudan, disrupting livelihoods and destroying agriculture
- Flooding: flooding is expected to peak between September and November 2025, putting crop yields at risk
Flooded homes in Old Fangak, South Sudan
Haiti
Approximately 5.7 million people in Haiti were projected to face crisis or worse levels of food insecurity between March and June 2025 – the UN’s highest number on record for Haiti – with:
- over 8,400 people facing catastrophic levels of hunger
- 2.1 million people facing emergency levels of hunger
Most people at risk of catastrophic hunger are internally displaced in the Port‑au‑Prince metropolitan area of Haiti.
Causes of hunger in Haiti
Hunger is at crisis-levels in Haiti because of factors including:
- Escalating violence: in 2024, over a million people fled their homes, losing their income and access to food
- Extreme weather: heavy rain is causing flooding and landslides that increase the risk of crop losses
- Economic instability: food inflation reached 37% in February 2025 leaving families unable to afford enough food to stay healthy
A displaced family preparing food in Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Mali
An estimated 1.5 million people in Mali were projected to face crisis or worse levels of food insecurity between June and August 2025, including:
- 2,600 people at risk of catastrophic hunger levels
- 64,000 people at risk of emergency hunger levels
Catastrophic hunger is expected in Ménaka, Mali and emergency levels are projected in the Mopti, Gao, Tombouctou and Kidal. Food insecurity in Mali is expected to get worse, with more people projected to face hunger than in the 2024 lean season.
Malnutrition remains a big concern in Mali. Around 1.6 million children were projected to be at risk of malnutrition between June 2024 and May 2025.
The number of children at risk of severe malnutrition has risen by 26%, impacting over 424,000 children.
Causes of hunger in Mali
Crisis-level hunger in Mali is being caused by:
- Ongoing conflict: displacement driven by violence is disrupting livelihoods and agriculture
- High food prices: families in conflict-affected areas are facing increasing food costs
- Flooding: severe floods are expected due to above-average rainfall, with food crops at risk
Displaced families collecting aid following floods in Timbuktu, Mali
Countries of very high concern
The UN’s hunger hotspots report has declared that countries where hunger is of very high concern are Yemen, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Myanmar and Nigeria.
Food insecurity needs to be urgently addressed in very high concern countries in order to save lives, prevent loss of livelihoods and stop hunger from getting worse.
Yemen
In Yemen, 17.1 million people are projected to face high levels of food insecurity in 2025. Hunger is expected to get worse and malnutrition rates in children remain critical.
The hunger crisis in Yemen is being driven by economic crisis, local conflict, extreme weather and floods.
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
The UN has identified the hunger crisis in Democratic Republic of Congo as worse than previously projected. More than 27.7 million people in DRC are expected to face crisis or worse levels of hunger between January and June 2025.
Malnutrition is also more prevalent – almost 4.5 million children under 5 are risk of acute malnutrition by mid-2025.
Increasing hunger levels in Democratic Republic of Congo are being fuelled by escalating conflict. As of March 2025, 7.8 million people had left their homes due to violence, losing their livelihoods and ability to afford food. Conflict in DRC is also significantly disrupting agriculture and food supply chains.
Myanmar
Following the Myanmar earthquake in March 2025, 16.7 million people in Myanmar are expected to face high levels of food insecurity. Malnutrition is also worsening, with 540,000 children at risk of malnutrition in 2025.
Hunger in Myanmar is being driven by ongoing conflict, economic crisis and cuts to essential programmes due to a reduction in foreign aid.
Nigeria
Over 30.6 million people in Nigeria are at risk of reaching crisis levels of hunger between June and August 2025, according to a UN analysis from March 2025. Nigeria is projected to face the worst child malnutrition numbers in the world, with over 5.4 million children at risk of malnutrition by April 2025.
Hunger and malnutrition in Nigeria is being fuelled by intensifying conflict, economic challenges and extreme weather that’s set to impact crop yields.
Other hunger hotspots
Hunger levels in the following countries are deteriorating quickly and at risk of becoming of very high concern:
- Burkina Faso
- Chad
- Somalia
- Syria
Source: Hunger Hotspots: Early warnings on acute food insecurity, June to October 2025 outlook – Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) and the World Food Programme (WFP).
Page last updated: 30 October 2025
