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Hunger · Sub-Saharan Africa

Hunger and malnutrition in Sudan

26Global Hunger Index 2026, rank 122.5*Serious

11% of people in Sudan do not get enough to eat, about 5.6 million. 38% of young children are too short for their age, a sign of long-term undernutrition, and 16% are dangerously thin.

11%undernourished (2021, FAO)
38%children under 5 stunted (2014)
16%children under 5 wasted (2014)
33%children under 5 underweight (2014)
3.0%children under 5 overweight (2014)
51%children 6-59 months anaemic (2019, WHO)
62 per 1,000children who die before age five (2024)

Undernourishment in Sudan since 2014

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

  1. 20148.5%
  2. 20169.8%
  3. 201811%
  4. 202011%
  5. 202111%

How Sudan compares

In Sub-Saharan Africa it is 6th of 47.

Frequently asked questions

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

Sudan ranks 122.5* in the 2026 Global Hunger Index with a score of 26, which the index calls serious. The score combines undernourishment, child stunting, child wasting and deaths of children under five.

How many people are hungry in Sudan?

FAO estimates 11% of people in Sudan were undernourished in 2021, about 5.6 million people.

What percentage of children are stunted in Sudan?

38% of children under five in Sudan were stunted in 2014, which WHO rates very high. 16% were wasted (2014).

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 Sub-Saharan Africa

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