Latin America & Caribbean: Prevalence of severe food insecurity in the population (%)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Latin America & Caribbean's prevalence of severe food insecurity in the population (%) fell 0.25 percentage points on 2023 (from 8.06% to 7.81%).

Across the 9 yearly changes before that (2015 to 2023), the average change was +0.2 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.41 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 2.43 percentage points in 2020 and the biggest yearly fall was 2.17 percentage points in 2023. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 23% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

What this measures

The percentage of people in the population who live in households classified as severely food insecure. A household is classified as severely food insecure when at least one adult in the household has reported to have been exposed, at times during the year, to several of the most severe experiences described in the FIES questions, such as to have been forced to reduce the quantity of the food, to have skipped meals, having gone hungry, or having to go for a whole day without eating because of a lack of money or other resources.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a population-weighted average.

All 11 values

Prevalence of severe food insecurity in the population (%) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 30.2% (2024)
• Algeria — 4.9% (2024)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 11.7% (2024)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 4.8% (2024)
• Israel — 0.7% (2024)
• Kuwait — 3.8% (2024)
• Libya — 15.1% (2024)
• Malta — 2.1% (2024)
• Pakistan — 5.5% (2024)

More health data for Latin America & Caribbean

• Population ages 00-04, female (% of female population) — 6.69% (2025)
• Population ages 00-04, male (% of male population) — 7.19% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female — 72.33 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) — 21.36% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male — 75.28 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) — 22.95% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, total — 147.6 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) — 22.14% (2025)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Latin America & Caribbean's prevalence of severe food insecurity in the population (%)?

7.81% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2014?

It is up 1.55 percentage points from 6.26% in 2014. The highest value was 11.52% in 2021 and the lowest 6.03% in 2015.

Is the latest change in prevalence of severe food insecurity in the population (%) unusual for Latin America & Caribbean?

In 2024, Latin America & Caribbean's prevalence of severe food insecurity in the population (%) fell 0.25 percentage points on 2023 (from 8.06% to 7.81%). Across the 9 yearly changes before that (2015 to 2023), the average change was +0.2 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.41 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SN.ITK.SVFI.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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