Pakistan's prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population (%) was 22.9% in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 1.4 percentage points from 24.3% in 2019.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 22.9% | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | 24.3% | 2019 |
| Highest | 27.6% | 2021 |
| Lowest | 12.1% | 2016 |
| Average since 2015 | 19.83% | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | 14.1% | 2015 |
Over five years it is down 1.4 percentage points from 24.3% in 2019. Since 2015 it is up 8.8 percentage points from 14.1% in 2015.
What the numbers say
In 2024, Pakistan's prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population (%) rose 0.3 percentage points on 2023 (from 22.6% to 22.9%).
Across the 8 yearly changes before that (2016 to 2023), the average change was +1.06 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 4.44 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 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 10.1 percentage points in 2019 and the biggest yearly fall was 5.7 percentage points in 2022. 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 the straight-line trend is upward, about 1.45 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 56% of the movement over 10 observed years.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
How it compares
In 2024, Pakistan had the 43rd highest value of the 95 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Pakistan | 22.9% | 2024 |
| World | 27.99% | 2024 |
| Lower middle income | 41.77% | 2024 |
Closest to Pakistan in the 2024 ranking
- Bangladesh — 40th of 95: 26.2%
- Tunisia — 41st of 95: 24.2%
- Tajikistan — 42nd of 95: 24%
- Georgia — 44th of 95: 22.8%
- New Zealand — 45th of 95: 17.9%
- Algeria — 46th of 95: 17.6%
What this measures
The percentage of people in the population who live in households classified as moderately or severely food insecure. A household is classified as moderately or severely food insecure when at least one adult in the household has reported to have been exposed, at times during the year, to low quality diets and might have been forced to also reduce the quantity of food they would normally eat 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 10 values
| Year | Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population (%) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 22.9 |
| 2023 | 22.6 |
| 2022 | 21.9 |
| 2021 | 27.6 |
| 2020 | 25.8 |
| 2019 | 24.3 |
| 2018 | 14.2 |
| 2017 | 12.8 |
| 2016 | 12.1 |
| 2015 | 14.1 |
Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population (%) in nearby economies
- Afghanistan — 77.8% (2024)
- Algeria — 17.6% (2024)
- Egypt, Arab Rep. — 29.9% (2024)
- Iran, Islamic Rep. — 37.7% (2024)
- Israel — 8.9% (2024)
- Kuwait — 9.4% (2024)
- Libya — 31.6% (2024)
- Malta — 9% (2024)
- Tunisia
More health data for Pakistan
- Population ages 00-04, female (% of female population) — 12.48% (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male (% of male population) — 12.7% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female — 45.25 million (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) — 35.94% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male — 47.25 million (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) — 36.54% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, total — 92.5 million (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) — 36.24% (2025)
- Population ages 05-09, female (% of female population) — 11.83% (2025)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Pakistan's prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population (%)?
- 22.9% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 2015?
- It is up 8.8 percentage points from 14.1% in 2015. The highest value was 27.6% in 2021 and the lowest 12.1% in 2016.
- How does Pakistan rank?
- 43rd highest of 95 economies with data for 2024.
- Is the latest change in prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population (%) unusual for Pakistan?
- In 2024, Pakistan's prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population (%) rose 0.3 percentage points on 2023 (from 22.6% to 22.9%). Across the 8 yearly changes before that (2016 to 2023), the average change was +1.06 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 4.44 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 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.MSFI.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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