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Bangladesh’s progress in reducing hunger has slowed significantly, with its Global Hunger Index (GHI) score improving by only 4 per cent since 2018, compared with a decline of more than 42 per cent in the score between 2000 and 2018.
The 2026 GHI ranks Bangladesh 84th among 122 countries assessed, with a score of 19.2, down from 20 in 2018. The country remains in the moderate hunger category, highlighting the need for stronger efforts to address persistent nutritional challenges, particularly among children.
The report points to a worrying rise in child wasting, which increased from 8.4 per cent in 2018 to 12.9 per cent in the latest assessment, reaching its highest level since 2000.
Wasting, measured by low weight relative to height, is a sign of acute undernutrition. It leaves young children more vulnerable to illness and increases their risk of death, making the rise a serious concern for Bangladesh’s public health and nutrition programmes.
Other indicators, however, show continued progress. Child stunting declined from 29.8 per cent in 2018 to 24 per cent in the latest assessment, while the proportion of the population experiencing undernourishment fell from 12.1 per cent to 8.2 per cent. Under-five mortality also decreased, from 3.3 per cent to 3 per cent.
The contrasting trends suggest that while Bangladesh has made gains in reducing chronic undernutrition and improving survival among young children, progress remains uneven. The rise in wasting points to continuing difficulties in ensuring that children receive adequate nutrition to support healthy growth and development.
The report describes Bangladesh’s long-term progress as “a generational achievement”, particularly in reducing child stunting.
The proportion of children under five affected by stunting fell from 54.9 per cent in 2000 to 24 per cent in the latest assessment, a reduction of more than 30 percentage points. Stunting, which reflects impaired growth resulting from chronic undernutrition, can have lasting consequences for children’s physical development, health and learning capacity.
Studies cited in the GHI attribute much of this long-term improvement to better parental education, especially maternal education, and improved household living conditions. Advances in health services, sanitation and demographic conditions have also contributed to the decline.
Despite these gains, the relatively slow improvement in Bangladesh’s overall GHI score since 2018 underlines the challenges of sustaining progress. The increase in wasting, in particular, highlights the importance of strengthening nutrition interventions and ensuring that vulnerable children and households receive adequate support.
South Asia continues to face a serious hunger burden. The region recorded an overall GHI score of 23.5, placing it in the serious hunger category, while the global score stood at 18.1, classified as moderate.
Among Bangladesh’s South Asian neighbours, India scored 24.1, Pakistan 25.5 and Afghanistan 28.6, with all three falling into the serious hunger category. Nepal scored 14.5 and Sri Lanka 10.2, placing both in the moderate hunger category.
The index assesses hunger through four indicators: the proportion of the population experiencing undernourishment, child wasting, child stunting and under-five mortality. Lower scores indicate less severe hunger, while higher scores reflect greater hunger and undernutrition.
The report cautions that historical comparisons are based on recalculated data covering different reference periods, rather than scores published in previous annual editions. The latest assessment also draws on data from different years, including child-wasting estimates for 2021–2025, a 2025 survey value for child stunting and under-five mortality figures for 2024.
These differences in reference periods are important when interpreting changes over time. Nevertheless, the overall findings point to a clear challenge for Bangladesh: maintaining its long-term gains while accelerating progress in areas where nutritional risks remain high, especially child wasting.