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Hunger · Sub-Saharan Africa

Hunger and malnutrition in Rwanda

21Global Hunger Index 2026, rank 92Serious

23% of people in Rwanda do not get enough to eat, about 3.3 million. 33% of young children are too short for their age, a sign of long-term undernutrition, and 1.1% are dangerously thin. Stunting ranges from 14% in Kigali to 33% in North.

23%undernourished (2024, FAO)
33%children under 5 stunted (2020)
1.1%children under 5 wasted (2020)
7.7%children under 5 underweight (2020)
5.6%children under 5 overweight (2020)
38%children 6-59 months anaemic (2019, WHO)
38 per 1,000children who die before age five (2024)

Child stunting by region in Rwanda

Children under five too short for their age, the 2025 Demographic and Health Survey (2025). Survey figures can differ from the UN estimate above, which is modelled across surveys.

  1. 1North33%
  2. 2West33%
  3. 3South26%
  4. 4East26%
  5. 5Kigali14%

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. 200049.6
  2. 200635.7
  3. 201227
  4. 201826.7
  5. 202621

Undernourishment in Rwanda since 2002

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

  1. 200234%
  2. 200433%
  3. 200630%
  4. 200828%
  5. 201025%
  6. 201225%
  7. 201434%
  8. 201633%
  9. 201832%
  10. 202034%
  11. 202225%
  12. 202423%

How Rwanda compares

Rwanda has the 21st highest child stunting of 129 countries with an estimate since 2015. In Sub-Saharan Africa it is 16th of 47.

Frequently asked questions

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

Rwanda ranks 92 in the 2026 Global Hunger Index with a score of 21, which the index calls serious. It scored 49.6 in 2000. The score combines undernourishment, child stunting, child wasting and deaths of children under five.

How many people are hungry in Rwanda?

FAO estimates 23% of people in Rwanda were undernourished in 2024, about 3.3 million people.

What percentage of children are stunted in Rwanda?

33% of children under five in Rwanda were stunted in 2020, which WHO rates very high. 1.1% were wasted (2020). That ranks Rwanda 21 of 129 countries with an estimate since 2015, highest first.

Which region of Rwanda has the most malnutrition?

In the 2025 Demographic and Health Survey, North had the highest share of stunted children, 33%, and Kigali 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 (RW2025DHS).

Hunger in other countries of Sub-Saharan Africa

All countries