In the 2022 Global Hunger Index, Nigeria ranked 103rd out of the 121 countries with sufficient data to calculate 2022 GHI scores.
With a score of 27.3, the publishers of Global Hunger Index, European NGOs Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe, have tagged the level of hunger in Nigeria as serious. In 2014, Nigeria’s score was 28.4 per cent.
Under the GHI classifications, from zero to 9.9 shows that hunger is low. The rate of 10-19.9 shows moderate hunger. From 20-34.9 means serious hunger while 35-49.9 shows alarming hunger. The figure of 50.0 and above shows extremely alarming hunger.
The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is a tool for comprehensively measuring and tracking hunger at global, regional, and national levels. The GHI scores are based on the values of four component indicators:
- Undernourishment: the share of the population with insufficient caloric intake.
- Child stunting: the share of children under age five who have low height for their age, reflecting chronic undernutrition.
- Child wasting: the share of children under age five who have low weight for their height, reflecting acute undernutrition.
- Child mortality: the share of children who die before their fifth birthday, partly reflecting the fatal mix of inadequate nutrition and unhealthy environments.
Based on the values of the four indicators, a GHI score is calculated on a 100-point scale reflecting the severity of hunger, where 0 is the best possible score (no hunger) and 100 is the worst. Each country’s GHI score is classified by severity, from low to extremely alarming.
Surprisingly,, the top ranked low hunger countries with score of less than five begins with Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Chile, China, Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Romania, North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovakia, Turkey and Uruguay.
These 17 countries with 2022 GHI scores of less than five are not assigned individual ranks, but rather are collectively ranked 1–17.
The countries with alarming hunger scores include Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Central African Republic, Yemen, Burundi, Somalia, South Sudan while Syria occupies the bottom position.
India has slipped six notches to rank 107. Bangladesh, which has moved eight positions down to rank 84th among 121 countries GHI, has improved a lot since last year’s 76th rank.
Almost all neighbouring countries to India flared well. Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Myanmar have been ranked 99, 64, 84, 81, and 71 respectively.