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Hunger · North America

Hunger and malnutrition in the United States

3.8%of children under five stunted (2022)Low

Under 2.5% of people in the United States go without enough food. 3.8% of young children are too short for their age, a sign of long-term undernutrition, and 0.1% are dangerously thin.

under 2.5%undernourished (2024, FAO)
11%moderately or severely food insecure (2024)
3.8%children under 5 stunted (2022)
0.1%children under 5 wasted (2022)
0.4%children under 5 underweight (2018)
9.5%children under 5 overweight (2022)
6.1%children 6-59 months anaemic (2019, WHO)
7 per 1,000children who die before age five (2024)

How the United States compares

The United States has the 116th highest child stunting of 129 countries with an estimate since 2015.

Frequently asked questions

How many people are hungry in the United States?

Under 2.5% of people in the United States are undernourished (2024), FAO's lowest band, so hunger in the sense of too few calories is rare.

What percentage of children are stunted in the United States?

3.8% of children under five in the United States were stunted in 2022, which WHO rates low. 0.1% were wasted (2022). That ranks the United States 116 of 129 countries with an estimate since 2015, highest first.

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.

Hunger in other countries of North America

All countries