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Hunger · South Asia

Hunger and malnutrition in India

24.1Global Hunger Index 2026, rank 100Serious

9.8% of people in India do not get enough to eat, about 143 million. 36% of young children are too short for their age, a sign of long-term undernutrition, and 19% are dangerously thin. Stunting ranges from 20% in Puducherry to 47% in Meghalaya.

9.8%undernourished (2024, FAO)
36%children under 5 stunted (2020)
19%children under 5 wasted (2020)
32%children under 5 underweight (2020)
3.5%children under 5 overweight (2020)
53%children 6-59 months anaemic (2019, WHO)
27 per 1,000children who die before age five (2024)

Child stunting by state in India

Children under five too short for their age, NFHS-5 (2019-21). Open a state for its districts. Survey figures can differ from the UN estimate above, which is modelled across surveys.

  1. 1Meghalaya47%
  2. 2Bihar43%
  3. 3Uttar Pradesh40%
  4. 4Jharkhand40%
  5. 5Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu39%
  6. 6Gujarat39%
  7. 7Madhya Pradesh36%
  8. 8Karnataka35%
  9. 9Assam35%
  10. 10Maharashtra35%
  11. 11Chhattisgarh35%
  12. 12West Bengal34%
  13. 13Telangana33%
  14. 14Nagaland33%
  15. 15Tripura32%
  16. 16Lakshadweep32%
  17. 17Rajasthan32%
  18. 18Andhra Pradesh31%
  19. 19Odisha31%
  20. 20Delhi31%
  21. 21Himachal Pradesh31%
  22. 22Ladakh31%
  23. 23Mizoram29%
  24. 24Arunachal Pradesh28%
  25. 25Haryana28%
  26. 26Uttarakhand27%
  27. 27Jammu and Kashmir27%
  28. 28Goa26%
  29. 29Chandigarh25%
  30. 30Tamil Nadu25%
  31. 31Punjab25%
  32. 32Kerala23%
  33. 33Manipur23%
  34. 34Andaman and Nicobar23%
  35. 35Sikkim22%
  36. 36Puducherry20%

India in NFHS-5 (2019-21)

MeasureAll IndiaUrbanRuralNFHS-4 (2015-16)
Children under 5 stunted35.5%30.1%37.3%38.4%
Children under 5 wasted19.3%18.5%19.5%21%
Children under 5 underweight32.1%27.3%33.8%35.8%
Children 6-59 months anaemic67.1%64.2%68.3%58.6%
Women 15-49 anaemic57%53.8%58.5%53.1%
Children 6-23 months with an adequate diet11.3%12.3%11%9.6%

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. 200038.1
  2. 200637
  3. 201228.8
  4. 201825.8
  5. 202624.1

Undernourishment in India since 2002

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

  1. 200220%
  2. 200422%
  3. 200619%
  4. 200815%
  5. 201015%
  6. 201213%
  7. 201413%
  8. 201612%
  9. 201811%
  10. 202013%
  11. 202213%
  12. 20249.8%

How India compares

India has the 15th highest child stunting of 129 countries with an estimate since 2015. In South Asia it is 1st of 6.

Frequently asked questions

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

India ranks 100 in the 2026 Global Hunger Index with a score of 24.1, which the index calls serious. It scored 38.1 in 2000. The score combines undernourishment, child stunting, child wasting and deaths of children under five.

How many people are hungry in India?

FAO estimates 9.8% of people in India were undernourished in 2024, about 143 million people.

What percentage of children are stunted in India?

36% of children under five in India were stunted in 2020, which WHO rates very high. 19% were wasted (2020). That ranks India 15 of 129 countries with an estimate since 2015, highest first.

Which state of India has the most malnutrition?

In NFHS-5, Meghalaya had the highest share of stunted children, 47%, and Puducherry the lowest, 20%.

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; states from NFHS-5.

Hunger in other countries of South Asia

All countries