Skip to content
Hunger · Sub-Saharan Africa

Hunger and malnutrition in Niger

34.1Global Hunger Index 2026, rank 116Serious

13% of people in Niger do not get enough to eat, about 3.6 million. 48% of young children are too short for their age, a sign of long-term undernutrition, and 11% are dangerously thin. Stunting ranges from 20% in Niamey to 54% in Diffa.

13%undernourished (2024, FAO)
50%moderately or severely food insecure (2024)
48%children under 5 stunted (2022)
11%children under 5 wasted (2022)
35%children under 5 underweight (2022)
1.2%children under 5 overweight (2022)
72%children 6-59 months anaemic (2019, WHO)
111 per 1,000children who die before age five (2024)

Child stunting by region in Niger

Children under five too short for their age, the 2012 Demographic and Health Survey (2012). Survey figures can differ from the UN estimate above, which is modelled across surveys.

  1. 1DiffaZinder/Diffa54%
  2. 2Maradi54%
  3. 3ZinderZinder/Diffa52%
  4. 4AgadezTahoua/Agadez40%
  5. 5TahouaTahoua/Agadez39%
  6. 6Tillabéri38%
  7. 7Dosso37%
  8. 8Niamey20%

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. 200052.7
  2. 200640.9
  3. 201238.1
  4. 201834.4
  5. 202634.1

Undernourishment in Niger since 2002

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

  1. 200222%
  2. 200419%
  3. 200617%
  4. 200815%
  5. 201015%
  6. 201215%
  7. 201414%
  8. 201612%
  9. 201810%
  10. 202011%
  11. 202213%
  12. 202413%

How Niger compares

Niger has the 3rd highest child stunting of 129 countries with an estimate since 2015. In Sub-Saharan Africa it is 3rd of 47.

Frequently asked questions

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

Niger ranks 116 in the 2026 Global Hunger Index with a score of 34.1, which the index calls serious. It scored 52.7 in 2000. The score combines undernourishment, child stunting, child wasting and deaths of children under five.

How many people are hungry in Niger?

FAO estimates 13% of people in Niger were undernourished in 2024, about 3.6 million people. 50% faced moderate or severe food insecurity (2024).

What percentage of children are stunted in Niger?

48% of children under five in Niger were stunted in 2022, which WHO rates very high. 11% were wasted (2022). That ranks Niger 3 of 129 countries with an estimate since 2015, highest first.

Which region of Niger has the most malnutrition?

In the 2012 Demographic and Health Survey, Diffa had the highest share of stunted children, 54%, and Niamey 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; regions from the DHS Program (NI2012DHS).

Hunger in other countries of Sub-Saharan Africa

All countries