Global Hunger Index

The Global Hunger Index is a measurement to measure the hunger situation in a country. It is a Statistical tool. There are three numbers which are used to calculate the GHI. Each number has the same importance and are taken as a percentage:

  1. The number of people who cannot get their needed energy intake each day, out of the total population of the area. This is a percentage.
  2. The number of children under the age of 5 which are underweight; again as a percentage (of all children in that group).
  3. The child mortality rate.

To get the World Hunger index, the weighted average of the three numbers is taken. This number will be between 0 and 100. Higher numbers are worse and low is better. The numbers can be interpreted as:

Today, the highest values can be found in least developed countries, especially Africa, and south of the Sahara, with values of 22.1, and 23.0, respectively.[source?] In South Asia the value is also high. Even though the numbers are similar, the source of the problems can be different.

Causes of the highest rates

In Sub-saharan Africa the main problem is high child mortality rates, and a large number of people who cannot meet their energy requirements. In South Asia, the main problem is the high number of malnourished children under the age of five. This may also be a consequence of the fact that women have a poorer education, and baby girls are not fed as well as baby boys.