Global Hunger Index 2026

Why in News?

Recently, the GHI 2026 data indicate that India experiences serious hunger.

The Global Hunger Index data for 2026 indicate the following:

• India ranks 100^th among 122 countries with sufficient data to calculate Global Hunger Index (GHI) scores.
• India's GHI score is 24.1, which categorises the country as experiencing serious hunger.
• South Asia's GHI score is 23.5, in contrast to the global average of 18.1.
• India's child stunting rate decreased from 50.0% in 2000 to 29.3% in 2026, representing a reduction of 20.7 percentage points.

Global Hunger Index

• GHI – It is an annual tool designed to measure and track hunger at global, regional and national levels.
• It is published jointly by:
  • Concern Worldwide
  • Welthungerhilfe
  • Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict (IFHV)
• Score – It is measured on a 0–100 scale:
  • 0 represents the best possible outcome (no hunger).
  • 100 represents the worst possible outcome.
• Four Indicators & its weightage

• GHI scores are calculated using the most recent available data for each of the four indicators; however, these data may not correspond to the same year.
• For the 2026 edition, the data sources specify the following timeframes:
  • Undernourishment data – 2023 to 2025.
  • Child wasting data – 2021 to 2025.
  • Child stunting and child mortality data – 2024.
• The index incorporates data from international agencies, including
  • Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO),
  • World Health Organization (WHO),
  • UNICEF, and
  • United Nations Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation.

Reference

GHI | Global Hunger Index 2026