Which countries in Latin America have the highest levels of hunger?

Until 2021, about 56.5 million people were affected. hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Of this total, representing 10.5% of the region’s population, about 34 million lived in South America.

This situation of starvation or malnutrition implies that a person “cannot get enough food to meet the minimum daily energy requirements for at least one year.”

But at present, which countries are most affected by food insecurity?

FAO indicates that the countries with the highest rates of undernourishment in Latin America are Venezuela (22.9%), Ecuador (15.4%) and Bolivia (13.9%).

Only in case Venezuela It is noted that 6.5 million people have a “prevalence of undernourishment”, with the level of hunger increased by 18.4% from 2013 to 2021.

Meanwhile, in Ecuador, hunger rates increased by 6.7%, affecting another 1.3 million people.

On the other hand, in countries such as Colombia, Paraguay and Peru, the prevalence malnutrition exceeded 8%.

No access to healthy food

As the cost of living rises, the FAO warns of a lack of access to healthy food for more than 131 million people on the continent.

A new United Nations report indicates that 22.5% of people in Latin America and the Caribbean do not have enough money to access healthy food.

FAO notes that this situation is a contradiction, as the region has the potential to food production which will support 1.3 billion people, twice its population, but the region has recorded levels of malnutrition, hunger and food insecurity that are higher than the global average.