Hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean has roughly halved since 2000 C.E., falling from about 10.3% of people to 5.1% in 2024 C.E. FAO data show it has dropped four years in a row since a 2020 C.E. peak. The progress is real, but it is uneven, and a healthy diet is still out of reach for many.
At a glance
- Long run: FAO figures show regional undernourishment fell from 10.3% in 2000 C.E. to a low of 4.8% in 2014 C.E., said Our World in Data. It then rose to 6.1% in 2020 C.E.
- Recent drop: A UN report put the 2024 C.E. rate at 5.1%. That is 6.2 million fewer hungry people than at the peak.
- Gaps: More than 33 million people still face hunger. About 181.9 million cannot afford a healthy diet, the same report said.
How hunger in Latin America changed since 2000 C.E.
Hunger fell fast at first. The FAO series shows 10.3% in 2000 C.E., 8.5% in 2005 C.E., and 5.9% in 2010 C.E., Our World in Data reported. The low of 4.8% came in 2014 C.E.
Then the trend reversed. The rate climbed to 5.5% in 2019 C.E. and 6.1% in 2020 C.E. It has fallen every year since, reaching 5.1% in 2024 C.E.
That leaves the region just above its 2014 C.E. low. FAO smooths its yearly figures, so single-year swings are muted.
Where the latest gains came from
South America drove the recent drop, the UN report said. Its rate was 3.8% in 2024 C.E., almost a full point lower than in 2022 C.E.
Brazil, Costa Rica, Guyana, and Uruguay are now below 2.5%, the report said. Chile and Mexico are close. MercoPress reported that Brazil’s ministry credited jobs and income programs, family farming, and school meals for its return below that line.
Food is also getting easier to afford. About 15.4 million more people could afford a healthy diet in 2024 C.E. than in 2021 C.E., the UN report said.
What remains unresolved
Mesoamerica sat near 5% and barely moved. The Caribbean stood at 17.5%, driven largely by Haiti at 54.2%, the UN report said.
A healthy diet costs about $5.16 a day in the region, and the cost rose 3.8% in 2024 C.E. Nutrition Insight reported that it is the most expensive in the world. Food insecurity was 5.3 points higher for women than for men.
Other problems are growing. Adult obesity reached 29.9% in 2022 C.E., almost twice the global rate, and anemia in women has risen since 2014 C.E.
What comes next
The report cites lingering pandemic effects, supply disruptions, and conflicts as drivers of higher food prices. Rocío Medina Bolívar of the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development called the findings “a clear wake-up call to redouble efforts.”
The estimates are modeled and get revised. The 2014 C.E. low shows the gains can reverse, so the next few years matter.
Read more
For more on this story, see: PAHO and UN agencies, Our World in Data, MercoPress, and Nutrition Insight
For more from Good News for Humankind, see:
- Paraguay’s poverty rate falls from nearly 50% to 17.6% in two decades
- Mexico’s middle class now outnumbers people living in poverty
- Ending poverty: the wins lifting millions out of hardship
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