10 African countries with the highest hunger index

Business Insider Africa presents top 10 hungriest African countries in 2023
While Africa boasts a wealth of resources and potential, the persistent challenges it faces have led to a worsening hunger crisis.
The list is courtesy of the Global Hunger Index.

The continent is getting a raw deal from climate change, with unpredictable weather patterns, droughts, and extreme conditions messing with the continent’s food production.

Also, pervasive political instability and conflict disrupt agricultural activities and displace communities, further deepening the crisis. Similarly, economic inequality leaves the most vulnerable without access to essential food resources.

On top of all that, Africa's population is on the brink of doubling by 2050, placing additional pressure on food production and distribution systems already strained by existing demand.

According to the 2023 Global Hunger Index, a tool for comprehensively measuring and tracking hunger globally, while some countries have made significant headway in reducing hunger little progress has been made on a global scale since 2015: hunger remains serious or alarming in 43 countries.

Per the report, the problem largely reflects the combined effects of several crises. These include the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, economic stagnation, the impacts of climate change, and the intractable conflicts facing many countries of the world.

For the 2023 GHI report, data were assessed for 136 countries. Out of these, there was sufficient data to calculate 2023 GHI scores for and rank 125 countries

Here are the 10 African countries with the worst hunger index:

Rank	Country	Global Rank	2023 score
1	South Sudan	128	35-49.9*
2	Burundi	127	35-49.9*
3	Somalia	126	35-49.9*
4	Central African Republic	125	42.3
5	Madagascar	124	41.0
6	Dem. Rep. of the Congo	122	35.7
7	Lesotho	121	35.5
8	Niger	120	35.1
9	Chad	119	34.6
10	Guinea-Bissau	118	33.0