The global hunger issue is a problem stemming from a variety of circumstances. It is not war, however, but poverty that tops the list of causes.

With nearly 10 million deaths per year, less than 10 percent of cases are directly related to war or natural disasters.

Social infrastructures, economic instabilities and various political upheavals can lead to increases in poverty. The greatest indicator of the presence of hunger in a nation is the size of the impoverished social class.

Where the Hungry Live

The causes of hunger parallel those of poverty, and famine is widespread, because where there is poverty there is hunger.

Despite the fact that, due predominantly to media influences, hunger is associated mostly with Sub-Saharan Africa,the majority of people living in famine are located in Asia and the Pacific.

Latin America, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Central Asia also have hunger issues. In every case, the people who go hungry are those in the poorest parts of those regions.

The majority of hunger crises are in rural areas, yet there has been an increase in urban hunger over the past decade.

Who Goes Hungry

The hungriest people are those in the poorest regions.

Wherever the standard of living is the lowest, there will always be the most hunger.

Within the caste of the poor, sufferers are predominantly women and children.