Food Security Crisis Deepens in South Asia, Pakistan Scores Worst

The 2025 Global Hunger Index, issued on 15 October, places Pakistan at the bottom of the South Asian table with the region’s highest hunger rating. A combination of volatile macro‑economics, climate‑induced shocks and ongoing wars has intensified the nation’s food‑security emergency.

Households now struggle to afford basic groceries as prices soar, driving a shift from low to moderate malnutrition levels since 2018. Child wasting has escalated to a high level, while stunting remains critically severe.

South Asia’s aggregate score of 23.5 is lower than the 37.5 recorded in 2000, yet the bulk of that improvement predates 2018. Pakistan and Afghanistan have slipped into the “serious” category, although child stunting has not improved.

In addition, heavy monsoon floods in parts of Pakistan and Bangladesh, together with below‑average rainfall and hotter-than‑usual seasons in Afghanistan, have damaged crops and reduced grain availability. The FAO estimates that 218 million people in South Asia were malnourished from 2023‑2025, roughly a third of the global total.