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Agenda 2030

Sustainable development goals
2

Zero Hunger

End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture

Key Targets
  • 1 By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round.
  • 2 End all forms of malnutrition, including achieving the internationally agreed targets on stunting and wasting in children under 5 years of age.
  • 3 Double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers.
  • 4 Ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices.
  • 5 Maintain the genetic diversity of seeds, cultivated plants and farmed and domesticated animals.
Key Facts
Around 733 million people face hunger globally.
3.1 billion people cannot afford a healthy diet.
1 in 3 people worldwide suffer some form of malnutrition.
Agriculture accounts for 70% of freshwater withdrawals worldwide.
Global Progress

Hunger had been declining for two decades, but since 2019 the trend has sharply reversed — driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, worsening climate shocks, and armed conflicts. The world entered 2023 with more hungry people than when the goal was adopted in 2015.

What We've Accomplished

  • Global undernourishment fell from 14.7% in 2000 to 8.0% in 2019 — a remarkable reduction.
  • Child stunting (under-5s) declined from 32.6% in 2000 to 22.3% in 2022.
  • Brazil achieved near-zero hunger by 2014 through its Fome Zero (Zero Hunger) program.
  • Ethiopia achieved one of the fastest reductions in child stunting in sub-Saharan Africa via the PSNP safety net.
  • Many countries doubled smallholder agricultural productivity through improved seeds and irrigation.

2030 Outlook

Off Track

The number of hungry people has risen for four consecutive years, reaching 733 million in 2023 — exceeding the 2015 baseline. The UN estimates the world is nearly 30 years away from ending hunger at the current pace. Achieving SDG 2 by 2030 would require at least a threefold increase in investment in food systems, plus urgent action on conflict and climate change.

Leading Nations

Brazil Near-zero hunger achieved by 2014 through Fome Zero; twice removed from the UN world hunger map.
China Dramatically reduced food insecurity through large-scale irrigation, rural support, and grain security programs.
Thailand Achieved near-zero hunger through integrated agricultural development and rural poverty programs.
Ethiopia One of Africa's fastest reductions in child stunting in the 2010s through the Productive Safety Net Programme.
India POSHAN 2.0 mission and food subsidy schemes reduced severe malnutrition at significant scale.