PRICE SHOCKS
Persistently high prices lead to hunger pandemic
Webpage based on 2025 Price Shocks report | © 2025 WORLD VISION INTERNATIONAL
Today, almost 1 in 10 people worldwide are currently going hungry. In response to the global hunger crisis, World Vision has been conducting an annual food price survey since 2021.
We monitor year on year fluctuations in food prices and compare the cost of a standard food basket in terms of hours worked between countries.
How much time does it take to earn money to buy this average basket of food?
1.5 hours of work in Germany
21 days of work in Sudan
2 hours of work in Australia
10 days of work in Malawi
3.5 days of work in the UK
8 days of work in Myanmar
In 16 countries in this year’s study, it would take over one week of work to earn the money for World Vision’s standard food basket.
In 2024 a whopping 71% of people living in lower income countries were not able to afford a nutritious diet.
Projections estimate that 582 million people will be undernourished by 2030 and over half of them will be in Africa.
The same basket of basic food items costs...
4 hours of work
Türkiye
30 days of work
Central African Republic
3 hours of work
Brazil
9 days of work
Mali
1 hour of work
United States
15 days of work
Chad
1 hour of work
Ireland
4 days of work
Cambodia
4 hours of work
South Korea
15 days of work
Somalia
5.5 hours of work
Mexico
10 days of work
Burkina Faso
2 hours of work
Canada
8 days of work
Haiti
Based on a 8 hour work day.
See full list in PDF report, here.
What is behind the stark price differences?
1. Economic crises and inflation
2. The cost of conflict and climate change.
Keep scrolling to learn our key takeaways or view full report, here.
Countries with the most intense price shocks
Eight countries had an increase of over an entire day’s work in the number of hours an average person would have to work to afford the standard food basket this year:
🇸🇳 Senegal
🇹🇱 Timor-Leste
🇱🇸 Lesotho
🇭🇹 Haiti
🇧🇮 Burundi
🇨🇫 Central African Republic
🇸🇩 Sudan
🇳🇪 Niger
Climate vulnerability, economic challenges and political tensions/conflict are the primary drivers for food insecurity.
Countries with the lowest priced food basket.
More than half of the ten countries with the lowest priced food basket from this year’s research, either had unchanged or improved prices from last year:
🇮🇪 Ireland
🇺🇸 United States of America
🇦🇺 Australia
🇫🇷 France
🇩🇪 Germany
🇳🇿 New Zealand
🇧🇷 Brazil
These were all high or middle income countries.
CASE STUDY 01
LAOS
Laos experienced one of the largest year on year increases in food prices.
Purchasing the same items would require more than seven additional hours of work in 2024, compared to 2023 (a 20% increase). This is just a glimpse of the gravity of Laos’ economic and humanitarian crisis.
Watch Phoun's Story:
CASE STUDY 02
LEBANON
Over the past five years, children and families in Lebanon went through several crises.
COVID-19, the Beirut blast, economic collapse and the massive escalation in violence in September 2024 have all had a compounding impact on food prices. We saw an 801% increase in the price of the food basket between 2021 and 2024.
Unprecedented levels of civilian casualties, mass displacement, and the destruction of homes and critical infrastructure from September to November 2024 have created a significant spike in humanitarian needs, and saw prices rise again by 11%.
Additionally, the agricultural sector is severely impacted by the conflict; 72% of farmers in the south reported loss of income due to loss of crops and livestock. An unprecedented dry spell in January 2025 has also put an additional strain on the agricultural sector, which will make it harder for farmers to recover.
See how families are coping with the economic crisis in Lebanon:
CASE STUDY 03
SOMALIA
In Somalia, prices are consistently high.
According to World Vision data from 2022 and 2024, it takes two weeks to earn one food basket, which is the seventh highest cost this year.
Somalia has some of the world’s highest levels of hunger indicators: child wasting (low weight-for-height), undernourishment and child mortality. Climate extremes, economic hardship, prolonged conflict and limited governmental capacity to meet these challenges are deepening the hunger crisis in Somalia.
Mother and daughter carry some food provided during a food distribution held by World Vision and its partners:
CASE STUDY 04
SYRIA
Political turmoil has rocked Syria this year.
A sudden change of government in December 2024 was reportedly accompanied by a 900% increase in the price of bread, once more highlighting the link between food prices and conflict.
Our data did not capture the sharp price spike after the change in government, but it does show an 8% change in prices between May and September. Our research also showed a slight decrease in prices in January, which matches reported falls in food prices after the December spike.
World Vision is providing 4,300+ families in northwest Syria with food parcels and food supplements:
CASE STUDY 05
SUDAN
Sudan is experiencing unprecedented levels of hunger.
This year’s data revealed that it would take over 20 days, about 166 hours, to earn a food basket in Sudan (a 42% increase from last year). While these figures are startling, they were collected in May 2024, months before famine was declared in August. Since then, famine-like conditions have been declared in five additional areas, with half the country’s population in urgent need of food.
Watch this video to learn what children are facing in Sudan and Chad:
