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Hunger · Latin America & Caribbean

Hunger and malnutrition in Guatemala

18.3Global Hunger Index 2026, rank 81Moderate

13% of people in Guatemala do not get enough to eat, about 2.4 million. 46% of young children are too short for their age, a sign of long-term undernutrition, and 0.8% are dangerously thin. Stunting ranges from 19% in Guatemala municipio to 70% in Totonicapán.

13%undernourished (2024, FAO)
49%moderately or severely food insecure (2024)
46%children under 5 stunted (2021)
0.8%children under 5 wasted (2021)
14%children under 5 underweight (2021)
4.9%children under 5 overweight (2015)
9.8%children 6-59 months anaemic (2019, WHO)
21 per 1,000children who die before age five (2024)

Child stunting by region in Guatemala

Children under five too short for their age, the 2015 Demographic and Health Survey (2015). Survey figures can differ from the UN estimate above, which is modelled across surveys.

  1. 1Totonicapán70%
  2. 2Quiché69%
  3. 3Nor-Occidente68%
  4. 4Huehuetenango68%
  5. 5Sololá66%
  6. 6Chimaltenango57%
  7. 7Chiquimula56%
  8. 8San Marcos55%
  9. 9Jalapa54%
  10. 10Sur-Occidente52%
  11. 11Baja Verapaz50%
  12. 12Norte50%
  13. 13Alta Verapaz50%
  14. 14Quetzaltenango49%
  15. 15Sacatepéquez42%
  16. 16Central41%
  17. 17Sur-Oriente40%
  18. 18Zacapa40%
  19. 19Nor-Oriente40%
  20. 20Suchitepéquez40%
  21. 21Petén36%
  22. 22Jutiapa36%
  23. 23Retalhuleu34%
  24. 24Santa Rosa34%
  25. 25El Progreso29%
  26. 26Guatemala restoGuatemala28%
  27. 27Escuintla27%
  28. 28Izabal26%
  29. 29Metropolitana25%
  30. 30Guatemala municipioGuatemala19%

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. 200029
  2. 200624.9
  3. 201221.5
  4. 201819.8
  5. 202618.3

Undernourishment in Guatemala since 2002

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

  1. 200220%
  2. 200420%
  3. 200618%
  4. 200818%
  5. 201015%
  6. 201215%
  7. 201415%
  8. 201614%
  9. 201813%
  10. 202014%
  11. 202214%
  12. 202413%

How Guatemala compares

Guatemala has the 5th highest child stunting of 129 countries with an estimate since 2015. In Latin America & Caribbean it is 1st of 28.

Frequently asked questions

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

Guatemala ranks 81 in the 2026 Global Hunger Index with a score of 18.3, which the index calls moderate. It scored 29 in 2000. The score combines undernourishment, child stunting, child wasting and deaths of children under five.

How many people are hungry in Guatemala?

FAO estimates 13% of people in Guatemala were undernourished in 2024, about 2.4 million people. 49% faced moderate or severe food insecurity (2024).

What percentage of children are stunted in Guatemala?

46% of children under five in Guatemala were stunted in 2021, which WHO rates very high. 0.8% were wasted (2021). That ranks Guatemala 5 of 129 countries with an estimate since 2015, highest first.

Which region of Guatemala has the most malnutrition?

In the 2015 Demographic and Health Survey, Totonicapán had the highest share of stunted children, 70%, and Guatemala municipio the lowest, 19%.

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 (GU2015DHS).

Hunger in other countries of Latin America & Caribbean

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