Global Hunger Index
Encyclopedia
The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is a multidimensional statistical tool used to describe the state of countries’ hunger
situation. The GHI measures progress and failures in the global fight against hunger. The GHI is updated once a year.
The Index was adopted and further developed by the International Food Policy Research Institute
(IFPRI), and was first published in 2006 with the Welthungerhilfe
, a German non-profit organization
(NGO). Since 2007, the Irish NGO Concern Worldwide
joined the group as co-publisher.
The 2011 GHI was calculated for 122 developing countries and countries in transition
, 81 of which were ranked. Every year, the GHI report focuses on a main topic: in 2010 the Index highlighted early childhood undernutrition among children younger than the age of two. The GHI 2011 focuses on the rising and more volatile food prices of the recent years and the effects these changes have on hunger and malnutrition. The report concludes that price increases and price volatility reduce poor households’ spending on a range of essential goods and services and reduce the calories they consume. Poor people’s nutrition is also affected by causing them to shift to cheaper, lower-quality, and less micronutrient-dense foods.
In addition to the yearly GHI, the Hunger Index for the States of India
(ISHI) was published in 2008 and the Sub-National Hunger Index for Ethiopia was published in 2009.
The GHI combines three equally weighted indicators: 1) the proportion of the undernourished as a percentage of the population; 2) the prevalence of underweight
children under the age of five; and 3) the mortality rate of children
under the age of five.
The data used for the 2011 GHI are for the period from 2004 to 2009 – the most recent available global data for the three components of the GHI. The data on the proportion of undernourished come from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO
) and IFPRI (estimates) are for 2005-2007. Data on underweight of children under 5 are based on data from 2004-2009 collected by the World Health Organization (WHO
), UNICEF and MEASURE DHS and data on child mortality are for 2009 from UNICEF. The 2011 GHI, the recalculated base value of the 1990 GHI as well as the values of 1996 and 2001 are not directly comparable to previously calculated GHI values. The values reflect the latest revised data for the three components of the GHI and include estimate where original source data were not available, based on the most recent data available.
compared with the 1990 GHI, by about 25% in South Asia
, and by 39% in the Near East
and North Africa
. Progress in Southeast Asia
and Latin America
was especially great, with the GHI decreasing by over 44%. Compared to 1996 Eastern Europe and the Community of Independent States the GHI has fallen by 47%.
Sub-Saharan Africa
and South Asia
share the highest regional GHI scores (22.9 and 21.7 respectively), but food insecurity in the two regions stems from different reasons: In South Asia, the major problem is a high prevalence of underweight children under five, which is a result of lower nutrition and educational status of women. In contrast, the high GHI in Sub-Saharan Africa is due to high child mortality rates and the high proportion of people who cannot meet their calorie requirements because of bad governance, conflicts, political instability and high HIV/Aids rates.
The highest regional GHI score can be found in South Asia
. After a rapid decrease between 1990 and 1996, the scores have not changed much despote the economic growth over the same period. Following the report, progress is inhibited by social inequality and the low nutritional, educational and social status of women. Slightly better numbers in Sub-Saharan Africa
stem from the end of a several conflicts in in the 1990s and 2000s, economic growth and successes in fighting AIDS.
Volatility and prices increases are worsened according to the report by the concentration of staple foods in a few countries and export restriction
s of these goods, the historical low of worldwide cereal
reserves and the lack of timely information on food products, reserves and price developments. Especially this lack of information can lead to overreactions in the markets. Moreover, seasonal limitations on production possibilities, limited land for agricultural production, limited access to fertilizers and water, as well as the increasing demand resulting from population growth, puts pressure on food prices.
According to the Global Hunger Index 2011 price trends show especially harsh consequences for poor and under-nourished people, because they are not capable to react to price spikes and price changes. Reactions, following these developments, can include: reduced calorie intake, no longer sending children to school, riskier income generation such as prostitution
, criminality, or searching landfills, and sending away household members, who cannot be fed anymore. In addition, the report sees an alltime high in the instability and unpredictability of food prices, which after decades of slight decrease, increasingly show price spikes (strong and short-term increase).Chapter 3: Combating Hunger in a World of High and Volatile Food Prices, and Chapter 4: The Impacts of Food Price Spikes and Volatility at Local Levels, pages 20–41
At a national level, especially food importing countries (those with a negative food trade balance, are affected by the changing prices.
The evidence presented in the report
shows that the window of opportunity for improving nutrition spans is the 1,000 days between conception and a child’s second birthday (that is the period from -9 to +24 months). Children who are do not receive adequate nutrition during this period have increased risks to experiencing lifelong damage, including poor physical and cognitive development, poor health, and even early death. The consequences of malnutrition that occurred after 24 months of a child's life are by contrast largely reversible.
Hunger
Hunger is the most commonly used term to describe the social condition of people who frequently experience the physical sensation of desiring food.-Malnutrition, famine, starvation:...
situation. The GHI measures progress and failures in the global fight against hunger. The GHI is updated once a year.
The Index was adopted and further developed by the International Food Policy Research Institute
International Food Policy Research Institute
The International Food Policy Research Institute is an international agricultural research center founded in the early 1970s to improve the understanding of national agricultural and food policies to promote the adoption of innovations in agricultural technology...
(IFPRI), and was first published in 2006 with the Welthungerhilfe
Welthungerhilfe
Deutsche Welthungerhilfe e. V. – or Welthungerhilfe for short – is a non-denominational and politically independent, non-profit-making and non-governmental aid agency working in the field of development cooperation and emergency relief aid...
, a German non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
(NGO). Since 2007, the Irish NGO Concern Worldwide
Concern Worldwide
Concern Worldwide is Ireland's largest aid and humanitarian agency. Since its foundation over 40 years ago it has worked in 50 countries and currently employs 3,200 staff in 25 countries around the world. Concern works to help those living in the world's poorest countries to achieve real and...
joined the group as co-publisher.
The 2011 GHI was calculated for 122 developing countries and countries in transition
Newly industrialized countries
The category of newly industrialized country is a socioeconomic classification applied to several countries around the world by political scientists and economists....
, 81 of which were ranked. Every year, the GHI report focuses on a main topic: in 2010 the Index highlighted early childhood undernutrition among children younger than the age of two. The GHI 2011 focuses on the rising and more volatile food prices of the recent years and the effects these changes have on hunger and malnutrition. The report concludes that price increases and price volatility reduce poor households’ spending on a range of essential goods and services and reduce the calories they consume. Poor people’s nutrition is also affected by causing them to shift to cheaper, lower-quality, and less micronutrient-dense foods.
In addition to the yearly GHI, the Hunger Index for the States of India
India State Hunger Index
The India State Hunger Index is a tool to calculate hunger and malnutrition at the regional level in India. It is constructed in the same fashion as the Global Hunger Index 2008 and was calculated for 17 states in India, covering more than 95 percent of the population.The ISHI was developed by...
(ISHI) was published in 2008 and the Sub-National Hunger Index for Ethiopia was published in 2009.
Calculation of the Index
The Index ranks countries on a 100 point scale, with 0 being the best score ("no hunger") and 100 being the worst, though neither of these extremes is achieved in practice. The higher the score, the worse the food situation of a country. Values less than 4.9 reflect "low hunger", values between 5 and 9.9 reflect "moderate hunger", values between 10 and 19.9 indicate a "serious", values between 20 and 29.9 are "alarming", and values exceeding 30 are "extremely alarming" hunger problem.The GHI combines three equally weighted indicators: 1) the proportion of the undernourished as a percentage of the population; 2) the prevalence of underweight
Underweight
The term underweight refers to a human who is considered to be under a healthy weight. "Underweight" means weighing less than what is expected to be a healthy person . The definition is usually made with reference to the body mass index . A BMI of under 18.5 is usually referred to as underweight...
children under the age of five; and 3) the mortality rate of children
Child mortality
Child mortality, also known as under-5 mortality, refers to the death of infants and children under the age of five. In 2010, 7.6 million children under five died , down from 8.1 million in 2009, 8.8 million in 2008, and 12.4 million in 1990. About half of child deaths occur in Africa....
under the age of five.
The data used for the 2011 GHI are for the period from 2004 to 2009 – the most recent available global data for the three components of the GHI. The data on the proportion of undernourished come from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO
Fão
Fão is a town in Esposende Municipality in Portugal....
) and IFPRI (estimates) are for 2005-2007. Data on underweight of children under 5 are based on data from 2004-2009 collected by the World Health Organization (WHO
Who
Who may refer to:* Who , an English-language pronoun* who , a Unix command* Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism- Art and entertainment :* Who? , a 1958 novel by Algis Budrys...
), UNICEF and MEASURE DHS and data on child mortality are for 2009 from UNICEF. The 2011 GHI, the recalculated base value of the 1990 GHI as well as the values of 1996 and 2001 are not directly comparable to previously calculated GHI values. The values reflect the latest revised data for the three components of the GHI and include estimate where original source data were not available, based on the most recent data available.
Global and regional trends
The 2011 GHI report shows how the hunger situation has developed since 1990 at global, regional, and national levels. Globally, the GHI fell over one fourth from 19.7 in 1990 to 14.6 in 2011. The global GHI 2010 had been 15.1. Regardless of this positive trend, the global fight against hunger is not reaching its goals fast enough. 29 countries still have an alarming (20-29.9) or extremely alarming (≥ 30) hunger situation. The global averages hide dramatic differences among regions and countries. The 2011 GHI had fallen by 18% in Sub-Saharan AfricaSub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...
compared with the 1990 GHI, by about 25% in South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
, and by 39% in the Near East
Near East
The Near East is a geographical term that covers different countries for geographers, archeologists, and historians, on the one hand, and for political scientists, economists, and journalists, on the other...
and North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
. Progress in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
and Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
was especially great, with the GHI decreasing by over 44%. Compared to 1996 Eastern Europe and the Community of Independent States the GHI has fallen by 47%.
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...
and South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
share the highest regional GHI scores (22.9 and 21.7 respectively), but food insecurity in the two regions stems from different reasons: In South Asia, the major problem is a high prevalence of underweight children under five, which is a result of lower nutrition and educational status of women. In contrast, the high GHI in Sub-Saharan Africa is due to high child mortality rates and the high proportion of people who cannot meet their calorie requirements because of bad governance, conflicts, political instability and high HIV/Aids rates.
The highest regional GHI score can be found in South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
. After a rapid decrease between 1990 and 1996, the scores have not changed much despote the economic growth over the same period. Following the report, progress is inhibited by social inequality and the low nutritional, educational and social status of women. Slightly better numbers in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...
stem from the end of a several conflicts in in the 1990s and 2000s, economic growth and successes in fighting AIDS.
Ranking
| Rank | | Country | | Global Hunger Index | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 1996 | 2001 | 2011 | ||||||
| 1 | Dominican Republic Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries... |
14,2 | 11,7 | 10,9 | 10,2 | ||||
| 2 | Swaziland Swaziland Swaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland , and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique... |
9,1 | 12,3 | 12,6 | 10,5 | ||||
| 3 | Vietnam Vietnam Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –... |
25,7 | 21,4 | 15,5 | 11,2 | ||||
| 4 | Mongolia Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest... |
16,3 | 17,7 | 14,8 | 11,4 | ||||
| 5 | Philippines Philippines The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam... |
19,9 | 17,5 | 14,1 | 11,5 | ||||
| 6 | Lesotho Lesotho Lesotho , officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country and enclave, surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. It is just over in size with a population of approximately 2,067,000. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. Lesotho is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The name... |
12,7 | 13,9 | 13,8 | 11,9 | ||||
| 7 | Bolivia Bolivia Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America... |
17 | 14,6 | 12,5 | 12,2 | ||||
| 8 | Indonesia Indonesia Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an... |
18,5 | 15,5 | 14,3 | 12,2 | ||||
| 9 | Mauritania Mauritania Mauritania is a country in the Maghreb and West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest... |
22,7 | 16,9 | 16,9 | 12,7 | ||||
| 10 | Botswana Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966... |
13,4 | 15,5 | 15,9 | 13,2 | ||||
| 11 | Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo , sometimes known locally as Congo-Brazzaville, is a state in Central Africa. It is bordered by Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo , the Angolan exclave province of Cabinda, and the Gulf of Guinea.The region was dominated by... |
23,2 | 24,2 | 16 | 13,2 | ||||
| 12 | Senegal Senegal Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north... |
18,7 | 19,7 | 19,3 | 13,6 | ||||
| 13 | Namibia Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March... |
20,3 | 18,7 | 16,3 | 13,8 | ||||
| 14 | Guatemala Guatemala Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast... |
15,1 | 15,8 | 15,1 | 14 | ||||
| 15 | Sri Lanka Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the... |
20,2 | 17,8 | 14,9 | 14 | ||||
| 16 | Benin Benin Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located... |
21,5 | 20,2 | 16,9 | 14,7 | ||||
| 17 | Gambia | 15,8 | 20,3 | 16,4 | 15 | ||||
| 18 | Nigeria Nigeria Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in... |
24,1 | 21,2 | 18,2 | 15,5 | ||||
| 19 | Myanmar Myanmar Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south.... |
29,2 | 25,4 | 22.5 | 16.3 | ||||
| 20 | Uganda Uganda Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by... |
19 | 20,4 | 17,7 | 16,7 | ||||
| 21 | Tadschikistan | — | 24,4 | 24,5 | 17 | ||||
| 22 | Burkina Faso Burkina Faso Burkina Faso – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.Its size is with an estimated... |
23,7 | 22,5 | 21,7 | 17,2 | ||||
| 23 | Guinea Guinea Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures... |
22,4 | 20,3 | 22,4 | 17,3 | ||||
| 24 | Cameroon Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the... |
21,9 | 22,4 | 19,4 | 17,7 | ||||
| 25 | Zimbabwe Zimbabwe Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three... |
18,7 | 22,3 | 21,3 | 17,7 | ||||
| 26 | Ivory Coast | 16,6 | 17,6 | 16,4 | 18 | ||||
| 27 | Malawi Malawi The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size... |
29,7 | 27,1 | 22,4 | 18,2 | ||||
| 28 | Kenya Kenya Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east... |
20,6 | 20,3 | 19,9 | 18,6 | ||||
| 29 | North Korea North Korea The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea... |
16,1 | 20,3 | 20,1 | 19 | ||||
| 30 | Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west.... |
21,7 | 22,3 | 22,8 | 19,5 | ||||
| 31 | Mali Mali Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with... |
27,9 | 26,3 | 23,2 | 19,7 | ||||
| 32 | Cambodia Cambodia Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia... |
31,7 | 31,4 | 26,3 | 19,9 | ||||
| 33 | Nepal Nepal Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India... |
27,1 | 24,6 | 23 | 19,9 | ||||
| 34 | Togo Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately... |
26,6 | 22,2 | 23,6 | 20,1 | ||||
| 35 | Laos Laos Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west... |
29 | 25,2 | 23,6 | 20,2 | ||||
| 36 | Tanzania Tanzania The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state... |
23,1 | 27,4 | 26 | 20,5 | ||||
| 37 | Pakistan Pakistan Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan... |
25,7 | 22 | 21,9 | 24 | ||||
| 38 | Rwanda Rwanda Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo... |
28,5 | 32,7 | 25,2 | 21 | ||||
| 39 | Liberia Liberia Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open... |
23,5 | 26,9 | 25,8 | 21,5 | ||||
| 40 | Sudan Sudan Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the... |
29,2 | 24,7 | 25,9 | 21,5 | ||||
| 41 | Djibouti Djibouti Djibouti , officially the Republic of Djibouti , is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east... |
30,8 | 25,8 | 25,3 | 22,5 | ||||
| 42 | Madagascar Madagascar The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa... |
24,4 | 24,8 | 24,8 | 22,5 | ||||
| 43 | Mozambique Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest... |
35,7 | 31,4 | 28,4 | 22,7 | ||||
| 44 | Niger Niger Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east... |
36,2 | 36,2 | 30,8 | 23 | ||||
| 45 | India India India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... |
30,4 | 22,9 | 24,1 | 23,7 | ||||
| 46 | Sambia Sambia Sambia or Samland is a peninsula in the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia, on the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea. The Curonian Lagoon and the Vistula Lagoon demarcate the peninsula. Prior to 1945 it formed an important part of East Prussia.-Names:Sambia is named after the Sambians, an extinct... |
24,7 | 25 | 27,6 | 24 | ||||
| 47 | Angola Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city... |
43 | 40,7 | 33,4 | 24,2 | ||||
| 48 | Bangladesh Bangladesh Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south... |
38,1 | 36,3 | 27,6 | 24,5 | ||||
| 49 | Sierra Leone Sierra Leone Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4... |
33 | 30,5 | 30,7 | 25,2 | ||||
| 50 | Yemen Yemen The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east.... |
30,4 | 27,8 | 27,9 | 25,4 | ||||
| 51 | Comores | 22,3 | 27,1 | 30,1 | 26,2 | ||||
| 52 | Central African Republic Central African Republic The Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,... |
27,6 | 28,6 | 27,7 | 27 | ||||
| 53 | East Timor East Timor The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor... |
— | — | 26,1 | 27,1 | ||||
| 54 | Haiti Haiti Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island... |
34 | 32,3 | 26 | 28,2 | ||||
| 55 | Ethiopia Ethiopia Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2... |
43,2 | 39,1 | 34,7 | 28,7 | ||||
| 78 | Chad Chad Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west... |
39,2 | 35,8 | 31 | 30,6 | ||||
| 79 | Eritrea Eritrea Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast... |
— | 37,7 | 37,6 | 33,9 | ||||
| 80 | Burundi Burundi Burundi , officially the Republic of Burundi , is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its capital is Bujumbura... |
31,4 | 36,3 | 38,5 | 37,9 | ||||
| 81 | DR Congo | 24 | 35,2 | 41,2 | 39 | ||||
| The Global Hunger Index is composed of the proportion of the undernourished as a percentage of the population, the prevalence of underweight Underweight The term underweight refers to a human who is considered to be under a healthy weight. "Underweight" means weighing less than what is expected to be a healthy person . The definition is usually made with reference to the body mass index . A BMI of under 18.5 is usually referred to as underweight... children under the age of five and the mortality rate of children Child mortality Child mortality, also known as under-5 mortality, refers to the death of infants and children under the age of five. In 2010, 7.6 million children under five died , down from 8.1 million in 2009, 8.8 million in 2008, and 12.4 million in 1990. About half of child deaths occur in Africa.... under the age of five (calculated average, in percentages). |
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Focus of the 2011 GHI: Rising and volatile food prices
The report cites 3 factors as the main reasons for high volatility, or price changes, and price spikes of food:- Use of the so-called biofuelBiofuelBiofuel is a type of fuel whose energy is derived from biological carbon fixation. Biofuels include fuels derived from biomass conversion, as well as solid biomass, liquid fuels and various biogases...
s, promoted by high oil prices, subsidies in the United States (over one third of the corn harvest of 2009 and 2010 respectively) and quota for biofuel in gasoline in the European Union, India and others. - Extreme weather events as a result of Climate ChangeClimate changeClimate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
- Future trading of agricultural commodities, for instance investments in fonds, which are speculating on price changes of agricultural products (2003: 13 Bn US Dollar, 2008: 260 Bn US Dollar), as well as increasing trade volume of these goods.
Volatility and prices increases are worsened according to the report by the concentration of staple foods in a few countries and export restriction
Export restriction
Export restrictions, or a restriction on exportation, are limitations on the quantity of goods exported to a specific country or countries by a government.An export restriction may be imposed:...
s of these goods, the historical low of worldwide cereal
Cereal
Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
reserves and the lack of timely information on food products, reserves and price developments. Especially this lack of information can lead to overreactions in the markets. Moreover, seasonal limitations on production possibilities, limited land for agricultural production, limited access to fertilizers and water, as well as the increasing demand resulting from population growth, puts pressure on food prices.
According to the Global Hunger Index 2011 price trends show especially harsh consequences for poor and under-nourished people, because they are not capable to react to price spikes and price changes. Reactions, following these developments, can include: reduced calorie intake, no longer sending children to school, riskier income generation such as prostitution
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
, criminality, or searching landfills, and sending away household members, who cannot be fed anymore. In addition, the report sees an alltime high in the instability and unpredictability of food prices, which after decades of slight decrease, increasingly show price spikes (strong and short-term increase).Chapter 3: Combating Hunger in a World of High and Volatile Food Prices, and Chapter 4: The Impacts of Food Price Spikes and Volatility at Local Levels, pages 20–41
At a national level, especially food importing countries (those with a negative food trade balance, are affected by the changing prices.
Focus of the GHI 2010: Early Childhood Undernutrition
Undernutrition among children has reached terrible levels. About 195 million children under the age of five in the developing world – about one in three children - are too small and thus underdeveloped. Nearly one in four children under age five – 129 million – is underweight, and one in 10 is severely underweight. The problem of child undernutrition is concentrated in a few countries and regions with more than 90 percent of stunted children living in Africa and Asia. 42% of the world’s undernourished children live in India alone.The evidence presented in the report
shows that the window of opportunity for improving nutrition spans is the 1,000 days between conception and a child’s second birthday (that is the period from -9 to +24 months). Children who are do not receive adequate nutrition during this period have increased risks to experiencing lifelong damage, including poor physical and cognitive development, poor health, and even early death. The consequences of malnutrition that occurred after 24 months of a child's life are by contrast largely reversible.
See also
- List of countries by percentage of population suffering from undernourishment
- Alternative approach to ranking countries based on hunger and undernutrition ,
Further reading
- Alkire, S. und M. E. Santos. 2010. Multidimensional Poverty Index: 2010 data. Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative. .
- Wiesmann, Doris (2004): An international nutrition index: concept and analyses of food insecurity and undernutrition at country levels. Development Economics and Policy Series 39. Peter Lang Verlag.
External links
- 2011 Global Hunger Index: The Challenge of Hunger: Taming price spikes and excessive food price volatility
- 2010 Global Hunger Index: The Challenge of Hunger: Focus on the crisis of child undernutrition
- 2009 Global Hunger Index: The Challenge of Hunger: Focus on Financial Crisis and Gender Inequality
- Hunger Issue Page, Welthungerhilfe
- Concern Worldwide