World Hunger facts

    * 854 million people are hungry

Developing nations

    * 820 million people are undernourished
    * 1 billion people live on less than $1/day
    * 146 million children under age 5 are underweight
          o 10 million children under age 5 die every year, over half of hunger-related causes
    * 1 in 6 people is hungry
    * 1 in 6 people lacks safe drinking water

12 Myths About Hunger

Why so much hunger?

What can we do about it?

To answer these questions we must unlearn much of what we have been taught. Only by freeing ourselves from the grip of ­widely held myths can we grasp the roots of hunger and see what we can do to end it.

World Hunger Facts 2008

World Hunger Education Service

Hunger is a term which has three meanings (Oxford English Dictionary 1971)

    * the uneasy or painful sensation caused by want of food; craving appetite. Also the exhausted condition caused by want of food

    * the want or scarcity of food in a country

    * a strong desire or craving

HUNGER FACTS

Every year, authors, journalists, teachers, researchers, schoolchildren and students send WFP queries seeking statistics about hunger and malnutrition.

To help answer their questions, WFP has compiled a database of useful facts and figures on world hunger, food aid and food production using a variety of sources (NGOs, other UN agencies). It is hoped this information will educate and inform as well as encourage critical reflection on hunger and poverty.