Pakistan faces severe food shortage, lagging behind other countries in the region

The Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2026 report indicates a severe food security crisis in Pakistan, ranking it 106 out of 122 countries, trailing behind regional neighbors like India (100th), Bangladesh (84th), and Iran (41st). Pakistan's GHI score for 2026 is 25.5, signifying a serious level of hunger, although this is an improvement from its 2000 score of 36.2. Despite this long-term improvement, the current score is worse than the South Asian average of 23.5 and the global average of 18.1. The report highlights Pakistan's poor performance in key hunger indicators, including child undernourishment, stunting, and child mortality rates. This situation reflects a concerning reversal in global food security trends, which had shown improvement for several decades before beginning to deteriorate again.