Global Hunger Index 2026: India Ranks 100th Among 122 Countries

India is ranked 100 out of 122 countries in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2026 with a score of 24.1, whereas Pakistan stands 106th with 25.5. Both countries belong to the category of serious hunger. The report has been launched on the theme “No Security Without Food Security” and has reported a global hunger score of 18.1 with the warning that there is a slowdown in achieving the SDG of Zero Hunger by 2030 due to conflict, climate change and increasing food prices.

What Is the Global Hunger Index 2026?

The Global Hunger Index is an annual study and measurement of the hunger situation in various countries and regions around the world. The purpose of the index is to measure and compare hunger and to draw attention to the extent of hunger and to the need for action.

The 2026 report has been published by Welthungerhilfe (WHH), the Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict (IFHV) at Ruhr University Bochum, and Helvetas. The theme of the report is “No Security Without Food Security”.

The GHI scores range from 0 to 100, where lower scores show lower hunger levels, and higher scores show more severe hunger.

India’s Ranking in the Global Hunger Index 2026

India is ranked 100th out of 122 countries, having a GHI score of 24.1. The hunger situation in India continues to be in the serious state, but there is an observation of long-term progress in child stunting.

The key indicators for India are the,

• Child stunting: 29.3% among children below the five years of age.
• Child wasting: Nearly 19%, which is the highest percentage worldwide.
• Undernourishment: It is an indicator of the proportion of people who cannot meet their dietary energy requirements.
• Under-five mortality rate: 2.7%-2.9%, according to the report summary provided.

In India, child stunting decreased from 50% in 2000 to 29.3%. But the prevalence of child wasting is still a major problem. Stunting is a result of chronic malnutrition, whereas wasting refers to low weight to height ratio and acute malnutrition.

Global Hunger Index Ranking for Pakistan in 2026

Pakistan is ranked 106 out of 122 countries, having a score of 25.5, which categorizes it into serious hunger. The score has reduced from 36.2 in 2000; however, according to the report, there has been a deterioration of the situation since 2018.

Some of the indicators used in reporting include 16.1% of the population facing undernourishment, 33.6% stunted children, 9.8% of wasted children, and 5.6% of under-five mortality rate.

Food insecurity is affected by economic instability, high food prices, and climate factors. The score of Pakistan is higher than that of India; therefore, Pakistan faces a higher level of hunger.

Key Findings on Global Hunger Index 2026

The GHI score is 18.1, and the overall hunger is rated as moderate. This score reflects a deterioration in comparison with the previous score of 17.6 in 2018 which is methodologically comparable.

According to the report, there are about 645 million hungry people across the globe. Since 2018, out of the four indicators used for GHI calculation, three have become worse in the global scope including undernourishment, stunted children and wasted children. Child mortality rate has kept decreasing.

Other significant findings include,

• Hunger situation has become worse in 32 countries since 2018.
• There are eight countries that belong to the alarming group: Burundi, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Yemen.
• Thirty-six other countries are included in the serious category.
• About 57 countries will fail to attain low hunger levels by 2030 if the trend remains unchanged.

Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia are still the hardest hit areas.

How is the Global Hunger Index Calculated?

The Global Hunger Index comprises four indicators that assess hunger from various perspectives.

Indicator	What it measures	Importance
Undernourishment	The percentage of people who suffer from insufficient dietary energy intake	Measures insufficient availability of food at the population level
Child stunting	The number of children under five years who are short for their age	Measures chronic undernutrition
Child wasting	The number of children under five years who are thin for their height	Measures acute undernutrition
Child mortality	The number of deaths among children under five years old	Measures the consequences of undernutrition combined with other health hazards

These indicators relate to food deprivation of the population and nutritional status of children. A high GHI value means a worse hunger situation.