When a headline says a number of people are “hungry,” it is usually reporting one of two measures that count very different things.

Confusing them is how two honest reports can disagree by more than a billion people.

TL;DR

• Chronic undernourishment (the PoU) counts people who lack enough calories over a full year. It reached about 673 million people, or 8.2% of the world, in 2024, with the newest FAO estimate at 645 million in 2025.
• Food insecurity (the FIES) counts a broader experience of not having reliable access to food. On this measure, around 2.3 billion people, 28% of the world, were moderately or severely food insecure in 2024.

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A third, wider measure tracks affordability: about 2.6 billion people could not afford a healthy diet.

The figures in this explainer come from the FAO’s annual State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report, produced jointly with IFAD, UNICEF, WFP, and WHO. 

It is the single most scrutinized hunger number published each year.

Two Measures, Two Different Numbers

The Prevalence of Undernourishment (PoU) is a modeled estimate of people whose habitual calorie intake is too low to maintain a healthy, active life. 

It is the classic “hunger” figure.

Globally, it has barely moved, sitting at 8.7% in 2022, 8.5% in 2023, and 8.2% in 2024.

The Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) is a survey. It asks people directly whether they skipped meals, ran out of food, or went a day without eating because of money. 

It captures a wider band of hardship, which is why it produces a much larger number: 2.3 billion people in 2024.

Neither is wrong, and they answer different questions. 

One asks “did you get enough calories over the year,” the other asks “did you struggle to access food.”

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Why the Gap Matters

Globally, the burden is deeply uneven. Africa carries the highest rate, with about one in five people facing hunger. 

Meanwhile, Asia is home to more than half of all hungry people by sheer population. 

For readers in the United States, the UK, and Canada, chronic undernourishment is statistically near zero, but the FIES still registers real food insecurity. 

That is because it captures households that run short of money for food even in wealthy countries.

That is the practical value of having two measures. 

The calorie count says a rich country has solved hunger, while the experience survey shows that food access is still a live problem for millions within it.

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ELI5

There are two ways to count hungry people. One counts people who did not get enough food energy all year. 

The other counts people who worried about running out of food or skipped meals. 

The second way finds many more people, because struggling to get food is more common than going completely without it.

Sources

FAO | FAO (2) | European Commission Knowledge4Policy | FAO SOFI flagship page (latest 2025 estimate)