Chapter 1 Sustainable Development Target 2.1: undernourishment and food insecurity
Globally, the prevalence of undernourishment has remained stable over the past three years, currently affecting 9.1 percent of the population.
Hunger affected 6.2 percent of the population (41 million people) in the region. This represents a 0.4 percentage point decrease (2.9 million people) compared to 2022 and a 0.7 percentage point decrease (4.3 million people) compared to 2021. However, this improvement is driven primarily by the decrease in South America.
The prevalence of undernourishment decreased in South America from 2022 to 2023, while in Mesoamerica the prevalence remained practically unchanged, and finally, in the Caribbean hunger increased marginally.
The global prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity remains above pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, showing little change over the past four years.
Latin America and the Caribbean made considerable progress in reducing the prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity, which decreased for the second consecutive year. The regional prevalence (28.2 percent) remains below the global estimate (28.9) but slightly above pre-pandemic levels.
At the subregional level, moderate or severe food insecurity decreased in all three subregions compared to 2022. South America experienced the largest decrease (4.5 percentage points), followed by the Caribbean (1.7 percentage points) and Mesoamerica (0.4 percentage point).
In 2023, 187.6 million people in the region experienced moderate or severe food insecurity, marking a decrease of 19.7 million people compared to 2022, and 37.3 million people compared to 2021. Breaking down the 2023 figure by subregion, 110.4 million people faced this situation in South America, while 51 million people were affected in Mesoamerica and 26.3 million people in the Caribbean.
The reduction in the prevalence of undernourishment and moderate or severe food insecurity is attributed to the economic recovery of several countries in the region, marked by increasing employment levels, decreased poverty and extreme poverty, and benefits from energy price increases observed after the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly for energy-exporting countries. Furthermore, solid social protection systems allowed countries in the region to respond quickly to changes, which is especially important in times of financial restrictions.
Severe food insecurity affected 8.7 percent of the population (58.1 million people) in the region. In the Caribbean, the prevalence was 28.6 percent (12.8 million people), followed by Mesoamerica with 7.6 percent (13.8 million people) and South America with 7.2 percent (31.6 million people).
Despite regional progress, inequalities persist in food insecurity, with significant differences among subregions and population subgroups. The gender gap for moderate or severe food insecurity in Latin America and the Caribbean was 5.2 percentage points in 2023 compared to a 1.3 percentage point gap at the global level. Furthermore, this form of food insecurity was 6.2 percentage points higher in rural areas than in urban areas in the region.