Skip to content
Hunger · Latin America & Caribbean

Hunger and malnutrition in Ecuador

10.3Global Hunger Index 2026, rank 54Moderate

11% of people in Ecuador do not get enough to eat, about 2.0 million. 17% of young children are too short for their age, a sign of long-term undernutrition, and 0.7% are dangerously thin.

11%undernourished (2024, FAO)
31%moderately or severely food insecure (2024)
17%children under 5 stunted (2024)
0.7%children under 5 wasted (2024)
4.9%children under 5 underweight (2024)
4.5%children under 5 overweight (2024)
24%children 6-59 months anaemic (2019, WHO)
13 per 1,000children who die before age five (2024)

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. 200019.1
  2. 200616.4
  3. 201212.3
  4. 201811.6
  5. 202610.3

Undernourishment in Ecuador since 2002

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

  1. 200222%
  2. 200420%
  3. 200615%
  4. 200811%
  5. 20108.4%
  6. 20128.5%
  7. 20148.5%
  8. 20169.5%
  9. 201811%
  10. 202014%
  11. 202213%
  12. 202411%

How Ecuador compares

Ecuador has the 57th highest child stunting of 129 countries with an estimate since 2015. In Latin America & Caribbean it is 4th of 28.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ecuador's rank in the Global Hunger Index?

Ecuador ranks 54 in the 2026 Global Hunger Index with a score of 10.3, which the index calls moderate. It scored 19.1 in 2000. The score combines undernourishment, child stunting, child wasting and deaths of children under five.

How many people are hungry in Ecuador?

FAO estimates 11% of people in Ecuador were undernourished in 2024, about 2.0 million people. 31% faced moderate or severe food insecurity (2024).

What percentage of children are stunted in Ecuador?

17% of children under five in Ecuador were stunted in 2024, which WHO rates medium. 0.7% were wasted (2024). That ranks Ecuador 57 of 129 countries with an estimate since 2015, highest first.

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.

Hunger in other countries of Latin America & Caribbean

All countries