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Global Hunger Index 2026 – India 100th of 122 countries; 'Serious' category

16-10-2026 · English

Global Hunger Index 2026 – India 100th of 122 countries; 'Serious' category

Topics: Indices & Reports · 16 October 2026 Current Affairs (UPSC / TNPSC / SSC / RRB)

News

The 2026 Global Hunger Index (GHI) was released in Oct 2026 (launch event 14 Oct, Berlin) with the theme 'No Security Without Food Security'. Of 136 countries assessed, 122 were ranked. India is 100th (tied with Ethiopia) with a score of 24.1 – 'Serious'; it was 102nd of 123 in 2025. Sri Lanka 53, Nepal 72, Bangladesh 84, Pakistan 106, Afghanistan 108. Last is Somalia (122, score 47.0). The world score is 18.1 ('Moderate').

Key facts

PublishersWelthungerhilfe (Germany), IFHV (Ruhr University Bochum, Germany), Helvetas (Switzerland)
India100/122; score 24.1 (2018: 25.8; 2000: 38.1); 'Serious'
India indicatorsUndernourishment 9.8%; child stunting 29.3%; child wasting 19.0% (highest in South Asia)
4 indicatorsUndernourishment (1/3), under-5 mortality (1/3), stunting (1/6), wasting (1/6)
Severity scale≤9.9 low; 10–19.9 moderate; 20–34.9 serious; 35–49.9 alarming; ≥50 extremely alarming
NeighboursSri Lanka 53, Nepal 72, Bangladesh 84, Pakistan 106, Afghanistan 108; China – in the group of 24 countries scoring below 5 (ranks 1–24)

Background

  • The GHI is a peer-reviewed annual report scoring countries on a 0–100 scale – lower is better. The 24 countries scoring below 5 are not ranked individually (jointly 1–24). In 2026, 8 countries are 'alarming': Somalia, DR Congo, Chad, Madagascar, and provisionally Burundi, Sudan, South Sudan and Yemen.
  • Terms: stunting – low height for age (chronic undernutrition); wasting – low weight for height (acute undernutrition). Both are measured for children under 5.
  • Government of India's stand: in earlier years (2022, 2023) the Ministry of Women and Child Development rejected the GHI as an 'erroneous measure of hunger', arguing that 3 of its 4 indicators relate to children's health and do not represent the whole population. India's schemes: POSHAN Abhiyaan (2018), PM-POSHAN, PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (free foodgrains to over 80 crore people), National Food Security Act 2013.

Tamil Nadu link: Tamil Nadu pioneered school meal schemes – free midday meals under Kamaraj (1956); MGR's 'Nutritious Noon Meal Scheme' (1 July 1982); the 'Chief Minister's Breakfast Scheme' launched at Madurai on 15 Sept 2022.

Source: 2026 Global Hunger Index report (globalhungerindex.org); Welthungerhilfe launch notice; Careers360, 14 Oct 2026

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