About 802 million people worldwide do not have enough food to eat on a regular basis, according to a new report from the USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS). That number, about 24 percent of the world’s population, represents a reduction by about 12 million people identified as food-insecure since 2011.
Over the next 10 years, food insecurity likely will affect even more people globally, according to the report. The authors project a percentage decline from 24 to 21 percent food insecure, but the actual number of food-insecure people will increase by 37 million, reflecting growth in the global population.
For this report, the agency defines food insecurity as when per capita food consumption for a country or income class falls short of the nutritional target of roughly 2,100 calories per person per day.