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Hunger · Sub-Saharan Africa

Hunger and malnutrition in Burkina Faso

22.1Global Hunger Index 2026, rank 93Serious

12% of people in Burkina Faso do not get enough to eat, about 2.8 million. 21% of young children are too short for their age, a sign of long-term undernutrition, and 9.3% are dangerously thin. Stunting ranges from 14% in Ouagadougou to 37% in Sahel.

12%undernourished (2024, FAO)
41%moderately or severely food insecure (2024)
21%children under 5 stunted (2021)
9.3%children under 5 wasted (2021)
17%children under 5 underweight (2021)
1.5%children under 5 overweight (2021)
77%children 6-59 months anaemic (2019, WHO)
75 per 1,000children who die before age five (2024)

Child stunting by region in Burkina Faso

Children under five too short for their age, the 2021 Demographic and Health Survey (2021). Survey figures can differ from the UN estimate above, which is modelled across surveys.

  1. 1Sahel37%
  2. 2Est32%
  3. 3Centre-Nord27%
  4. 4Boucle de Mouhoun25%
  5. 5Centre-Est25%
  6. 6Nord24%
  7. 7Centre-Ouest22%
  8. 8Plateau Central22%
  9. 9Cascades21%
  10. 10Sud-Ouest20%
  11. 11Centre-Sud18%
  12. 12Hauts Bassins16%
  13. 13Centre (including Ouagadougou)15%
  14. 14Ouagadougou14%

Global Hunger Index score over time

Out of 100, lower is better. The index rescores past years with the latest data, so these are comparable with each other.

  1. 200044.3
  2. 200636.4
  3. 201230.3
  4. 201825.1
  5. 202622.1

Undernourishment in Burkina Faso since 2002

Share of people not getting enough calories, FAO. Each figure is a three-year average centred on the year.

  1. 200220%
  2. 200417%
  3. 200617%
  4. 200815%
  5. 201015%
  6. 201214%
  7. 201414%
  8. 201615%
  9. 201815%
  10. 202014%
  11. 202213%
  12. 202412%

How Burkina Faso compares

Burkina Faso has the 47th highest child stunting of 129 countries with an estimate since 2015. In Sub-Saharan Africa it is 37th of 47.

Frequently asked questions

What is Burkina Faso's rank in the Global Hunger Index?

Burkina Faso ranks 93 in the 2026 Global Hunger Index with a score of 22.1, which the index calls serious. It scored 44.3 in 2000. The score combines undernourishment, child stunting, child wasting and deaths of children under five.

How many people are hungry in Burkina Faso?

FAO estimates 12% of people in Burkina Faso were undernourished in 2024, about 2.8 million people. 41% faced moderate or severe food insecurity (2024).

What percentage of children are stunted in Burkina Faso?

21% of children under five in Burkina Faso were stunted in 2021, which WHO rates high. 9.3% were wasted (2021). That ranks Burkina Faso 47 of 129 countries with an estimate since 2015, highest first.

Which region of Burkina Faso has the most malnutrition?

In the 2021 Demographic and Health Survey, Sahel had the highest share of stunted children, 37%, and Ouagadougou the lowest, 14%.

Sources: FAO (undernourishment, food insecurity), UNICEF/WHO/World Bank Joint Malnutrition Estimates (stunting, wasting, underweight, overweight), WHO (anaemia) and UN IGME (child deaths), as published by the World Bank; Global Hunger Index 2026; regions from the DHS Program (BF2021DHS).

Hunger in other countries of Sub-Saharan Africa

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