Northern Brazil concentrates the highest rates of severe food insecurity in the country
16 de October de 2025
By Marcela Leiros – From Cenarium
MANAUS (AM) – Three states in Northern Brazil concentrate the worst rates of severe food insecurity in the country, according to data released by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) on Thursday, the 10th. The survey shows that Amapá (9.3%), Amazonas (7.2%), and Pará (7.0%) top the national ranking of households living with hunger, when food scarcity affects even children and adolescents.
Food insecurity refers to the lack of consistent access to sufficient and nutritious food for a healthy and active life. The IBGE classifies it into three levels: mild (concern or uncertainty about access to food and reduction in quality to avoid affecting quantity); moderate (lack of quality and reduction in the amount of food among adults); and severe (lack of quality and reduction in the amount of food also among those under 18, with hunger being an experience within the household).
Among the states with the highest percentages of households in food insecurity are also three federative units from the North Region: Pará (44.6%), Roraima (43.6%), and Amazonas (38.9%), followed by northeastern states Bahia (37.8%), Pernambuco (35.3%), Maranhão (35.2%), Alagoas (35%), and Sergipe (35%).
Although the total number of households with some degree of food insecurity dropped from 27.6% to 24.2% between 2023 and 2024, the issue remains alarming in the North, where 37.7% of households still face uncertainty or lack of food. This is the highest proportion in the country, almost four times higher than that recorded in the South (1.7%).
Profiles
The data show greater vulnerability to food restrictions in households with children or adolescents: 3.3% of the population aged 0 to 4 years and 3.8% of those aged 5 to 17 lived with severe food insecurity. Among people aged 65 or older, this proportion was lower, at 2.3%.
As age increased, so did the proportion of those living in households with food security. “The older population has, on average, higher income levels; they are people who still contribute financially, whether through work or retirement,” explained Maria Lucia, IBGE research analyst.
Cases of moderate or severe food insecurity were also concentrated in households with a monthly per capita income of up to one-quarter of the minimum wage (13.4%), up to half the minimum wage (21.2%), and up to one minimum wage (31.5%).
Together, these three income brackets accounted for approximately two-thirds of food-insecure households (66.1%). Meanwhile, households with income above two minimum wages represented 7.4% of the cases.