Number of people who are undernourished in Bangladesh

Bangladesh: Number of people who are undernourished was 17.90 million millions in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
17.90 million millions
Change on year
down 0.6%
World rank
8th
of 131 countries
All-time high
27.80 million millions
in 2010
All-time low
17.20 million millions
in 2021
Years of data
23
2001–2023

Number of people who are undernourished in Bangladesh, 2001–2023

010.0M20.0M30.0M2001201220232001: 21.2M millions2002: 20.3M millions2003: 20.8M millions2004: 21.0M millions2005: 21.8M millions2006: 22.6M millions2007: 23.8M millions2008: 25.2M millions2009: 27.1M millions2010: 27.8M millions2011: 27.6M millions2012: 26.9M millions2013: 26.2M millions2014: 24.7M millions2015: 24.3M millions2016: 23.1M millions2017: 21.7M millions2018: 19.7M millions2019: 17.9M millions2020: 18.0M millions2021: 17.2M millions2022: 18.0M millions2023: 17.9M millions

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in millions.

Analysis

The most recent figure for number of people who are undernourished in Bangladesh is 17.90 million millions, measured in 2023.

The figure is down 0.6% on the previous year and down 31.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of people who are undernourished in Bangladesh peaked at 27.80 million millions in 2010 and was at its lowest, 17.20 million millions, in 2021.

Bangladesh ranks 8th of 131 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 23 years of available data.

Number of people who are undernourished in Bangladesh, year by year

Annual values for Number of people who are undernourished in Bangladesh, 2001 to 2023.
Year millions Change
2001 21.20 million millions
2002 20.30 million millions -4.2%
2003 20.80 million millions +2.5%
2004 21.00 million millions +1.0%
2005 21.80 million millions +3.8%
2006 22.60 million millions +3.7%
2007 23.80 million millions +5.3%
2008 25.20 million millions +5.9%
2009 27.10 million millions +7.5%
2010 27.80 million millions +2.6%
2011 27.60 million millions -0.7%
2012 26.90 million millions -2.5%
2013 26.20 million millions -2.6%
2014 24.70 million millions -5.7%
2015 24.30 million millions -1.6%
2016 23.10 million millions -4.9%
2017 21.70 million millions -6.1%
2018 19.70 million millions -9.2%
2019 17.90 million millions -9.1%
2020 18.00 million millions +0.6%
2021 17.20 million millions -4.4%
2022 18.00 million millions +4.7%
2023 17.90 million millions -0.6%

Bangladesh compared with similar countries

  • Bangladesh's 17.90 million millions is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 1.60 million millions, 11.2× the median. (43 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 22.64 million millions 20.30 million millions 27.10 million millions 9
2010s 23.99 million millions 17.90 million millions 27.80 million millions 10
2020s 17.77 million millions 17.20 million millions 18.00 million millions 4

Countries ranked near Bangladesh

  1. 5 China 38.50 million millions compare
  2. 6 Ethiopia 25.40 million millions compare
  3. 7 Kenya 20.40 million millions compare
  4. 9 Indonesia 17.70 million millions compare
  5. 10 Tanzania 13.40 million millions compare
  6. 11 Madagascar 12.30 million millions compare

See the full ranking of 131 places →

More reference data data for Bangladesh

All data for Bangladesh →

Frequently asked questions

What is number of people who are undernourished in Bangladesh?
Number of people who are undernourished in Bangladesh was 17.90 million millions in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest number of people who are undernourished recorded in Bangladesh?
The highest recorded value was 27.80 million millions in 2010.
What is the lowest number of people who are undernourished recorded in Bangladesh?
The lowest recorded value was 17.20 million millions in 2021.
How does Bangladesh rank for number of people who are undernourished?
Bangladesh ranks 8th out of 131 countries with data for 2023.
Is number of people who are undernourished rising or falling in Bangladesh?
Over the last ten years it is down 31.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Bangladesh data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of people who are undernourished. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Number of people who are undernourished in Bangladesh. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/number-undernourished/bangladesh/

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About this data

Indicator
Number of people who are undernourished
Unit
millions
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
131 places, 2,706 data points, 2001–2023
Last refreshed

Undernourishment is measured as having a caloric intake that is insufficient to meet the minimum energy requirements necessary for a given individual.