famine
Sign in to savethumb|upright=1.35|Two men and a child, all dead from starvation during the Russian famine of 1921–1922 A famine is a widespread scarcity of food caused by several possible factors, including, but not limited to: war, natural disasters, crop failure, widespread poverty, an economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Every inhabited continent in the world has experienced a period of famine throughout history. During the 19th and 20th centuries, Southeast and South Asia, a
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A famine is a widespread shortage of food caused by factors such as war, natural disasters, crop failure, poverty, economic collapse, or government policies, and it typically leads to malnutrition, starvation, disease, and higher death rates in affected regions. Famines have occurred throughout history on every inhabited continent and represent a serious threat to human survival and well-being.
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49 sectionsContents
- Definitions
- History
- Decline of famine
- Attempts at famine alleviation
- 20th century
- 21st century
- Regional history
- Africa
- Early history
- Colonial period
- 20th century
- Recent years
- Current initiatives
- The role of African Unity organization
- Far East
- China
- Great Leap Forward 1958–1961
- Japan
- Cambodia
- North Korean famine in the 1990s
- Vietnam
- India
- Middle East
- Europe
- Middle Ages
- 16th century
- 17th century
- 18th century
- 19th century
- 20th century
- Latin America
- Oceania
- Risk of future famine
- Causes
- Climate and population pressure
- State-sponsored famines
- Economic sanctions
- Famine prevention
- Overall food production
- Food security
- Relief
- Levels of food insecurity
- Society and culture
- Effects on society
- See also
- Footnotes
- References
- Sources and further reading
- External links
thumb|upright=1.35|Two men and a child, all dead from starvation during the Russian famine of 1921–1922 A famine is a widespread scarcity of food caused by several possible factors, including, but not limited to: war, natural disasters, crop failure, widespread poverty, an economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Every inhabited continent in the world has experienced a period of famine throughout history. During the 19th and 20th centuries, Southeast and South Asia, as well as Eastern and Central Europe, suffered the greatest number of fatalities due to famine. Deaths caused by famine declined sharply beginning in the 1970s, with numbers falling further since 2000. Since 2010, Africa has been the most affected continent in the world by famine. As of 2025, Haiti and Afghanistan are the two countries with the most catastrophic and widespread states of famine, followed by Sudan.
==Definitions== According to the United Nations World Food Programme, famine is declared when malnutrition is widespread, and when people have started dying from starvation through lack of access to sufficient, nutritious food. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification criteria define Phase 5 famine of acute food insecurity as occurring when all three of the following situations exist at the same time: At least 20% of households in an area face extreme food shortages with a limited ability to cope; The prevalence of acute malnutrition in children exceeds 30%; The death rate exceeds two people per 10,000 per day. The declaration of a famine carries no binding obligations on the UN or member states, but serves to focus global attention on the problem.