ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister’s Adviser Rana Sanaullah has urged Pakistanis not to rely on the Global Hunger Index, arguing that the country’s culture of helping those in need means people do not go hungry or sleep on the streets.
Asked about Pakistan’s ranking of 106th among 122 countries—behind India at 100th—Sanaullah questioned whether hunger-related deprivation seen elsewhere was common in Pakistan. He called using the report to criticize the country inappropriate.
The 2026 index gives Pakistan a score of 25.5, placing it in the “serious” hunger category. It reports that 16.1% of the population is undernourished, while 33.6% of children under five are stunted and 9.8% are wasted. The index ranks Pakistan second-worst in South Asia, ahead of Afghanistan.
The figures and methodology are available from the [Global Hunger Index’s Pakistan page](https://www.globalhungerindex.org/Pakistan.html) and its [2026 methodology](https://www.globalhungerindex.org/methodology.html).
