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Friday | October 16, 2026 | Dhaka

Bangladesh ranks 84th in global hunger index 2026

 Staff Reporter
 Published: 12:01 AM, 16 October 2026  Updated: 11:15 PM, 15 October 2026

Bangladesh ranked 84th in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2026 with a score of 19.2, placing it in the moderate hunger category, while child wasting affected 12.9 per cent of children under five, according to the report.

Bangladesh ranked ahead of India and Pakistan but behind Nepal in the Global Hunger Index 2026, which tracks hunger and undernutrition across countries using indicators of food deprivation, child nutrition and child mortality.

India ranked 100th with a score of 24.1, while Pakistan stood at 106th with 25.5. Both countries fell into the serious hunger category.

Nepal ranked 72nd with a score of 14.5, placing it in the moderate category.

The index uses four indicators to assess hunger: undernourishment, child stunting, child wasting and under-five mortality. A lower score indicates a lower level of hunger, while rankings show a country’s relative position among those included in the assessment.

In Bangladesh, 8.2 per cent of the population is undernourished, according to the report.
Child nutrition remains a concern, with 24 per cent of children under five affected by stunting, or low height for their age. Another 12.9 per cent suffer from wasting, defined as low weight for their height.

The report also puts the under-five mortality rate at 3 per cent, meaning three per cent of children die before reaching their fifth birthday.

Despite these challenges, Bangladesh has made progress in reducing child stunting over the past two decades.

The proportion of children under five affected by stunting fell from 54.9 per cent in 2000 to 24 per cent in the latest assessment, a reduction of 30.9 percentage points.

Under the GHI classification, scores below 10 indicate low hunger, while scores from 10 to 19.9 indicate moderate hunger. Scores from 20 to 34.9 represent serious hunger, those from 35 to 49.9 indicate alarming hunger, and scores of 50 or above fall into the extremely alarming category.

The 2026 report warns that global hunger is rising again, with conflicts, climate shocks and economic crises threatening food security.

The Global Hunger Index is published annually by Concern Worldwide, Welthungerhilfe and the Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict (IFHV) to monitor hunger and undernutrition worldwide.