About Us

Facts and Figures

In 2010, WFP provided food for 109.2 million people in 75 countries.

Here's the breakdown:

People

The hungry people reached in 2010 included:

• 89 million women and children
• 21.1 million children reached through school meals projects
• 24.3 million people who received food as an incentive to build assets or attend training
• 15.4 million internally displaced persons (IDPs)
• 2.1 million refugees
• 2.5 million people affected by HIV/AIDS
   

Food

Food delivered to the hungry totaled 4.6 million metric tons.

• 1.4 million tons came through in-kind donations
• 3.2 million tons was purchased with cash
• $1.25 billion was spent buying food
• $975 million spent buying food in 76 developing countries
• 78 percent of food was purchased from developing countries 
   

Top Four Hunger Statistics
 

More Hunger Statistics

• 925 million people do not have enough to eat  and 98 percent of them live in developing countries.
  (Source: FAO news release, 14 September 2010)
• Asia and the Pacific region is home to over half the world’s population and nearly two thirds of the world’s hungry people. 
  (Source: FAO news release, 2010)
• Women make up a little over half of the world's population, but they account for over 60 percent of the world’s hungry.
  (Source: Strengthening efforts to eradicate hunger..., ECOSOC, 2007)
• 65 percent  of the world's hungry live in only seven countries: India, China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan and Ethiopia. 
  (Source: FAO news release, 2010)
• Undernutrition contributes to five million deaths of children under five each year in developing countries.
  (Source: Under five deaths by cause, UNICEF, 2006)
• One out of four children - roughly 146 million - in developing countries is underweight.
  (Source: The State of the World's Children, UNICEF, 2007)
• More than 70 percent of the world's underweight children (aged five or less) live in just 10 countries, with more than 50 per cent located in South Asia alone. 
  (Source: Progress for Children: A Report Card on Nutrition, UNICEF, 2006)
• 10.9 million children under five die in developing countries each year. Malnutrition and hunger-related diseases cause 60 percent of the deaths.
  (Source: The State of the World's Children, UNICEF, 2007)
• Iron deficiency is the most prevalent form of malnutrition worldwide, affecting an estimated 2 billion people. Eradicating iron deficiency can improve national productivity levels by as much as 20 percent.
  (Source: World Health Organization, WHO Global Database on Anaemia)
• Iodine deficiency is the greatest single cause of mental retardation and brain damage, affecting 1.9 billion people worldwide. It can easily be prevented by adding iodine to salt.
  (Source: World Nutrition Situation 5th report ,UN Standing Committee on Nutrition2005)