Famine
Two men and a child lie dead on the ground, victims of starvation during the Russian famine of 1921, 1922. This stark image illustrates the final stage of a crisis that begins long before death occurs. The United Nations World Food Programme defines famine as a situation where malnutrition is widespread and people are dying from starvation due to lack of access to sufficient, nutritious food. A more technical framework exists in the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification criteria. This system identifies Phase 5 famine when three specific conditions exist simultaneously. At least 20% of households in an area must face extreme food shortages with limited ability to cope. The prevalence of acute malnutrition in children must exceed 30%. Finally, the death rate must surpass two people per 10,000 per day. These thresholds distinguish true famine from general food insecurity or temporary hunger. Declaring a famine carries no binding legal obligations for member states or the UN. Instead, it serves as a mechanism to focus global attention on the severity of the problem.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the feudal system began to break down across Europe. More prosperous farmers started enclosing their own land to improve yields and sell surplus crops for profit. These capitalist landowners paid laborers with money, which increased the commercialization of rural society. In the emerging competitive labor market, better techniques for improving labor productivity were increasingly valued and rewarded. Farmers produced guaranteed surpluses of their crops every year if they could. Subsistence peasants were also forced to commercialize their activities due to increasing taxes. Taxes had to be paid to central governments in money, forcing peasants to produce crops intended for sale at market. This often meant producing industrial crops alongside subsistence crops. Peasants used new money to purchase manufactured goods. By the 1590s, these trends were sufficiently developed in the rich and commercialized province of Holland. The Netherlands maintained a steady food supply despite a general outbreak of famine in Western Europe at that time. By 1650, English agriculture had become commercialized on a much wider scale. The last peacetime famine in England occurred in 1623, 24. There were still periods of hunger, but no more famines ever occurred in England after that point.
The largest famine of the 20th century struck China between 1958 and 1961 during the Great Leap Forward. Mao Zedong attempted to transform China from an agricultural nation into an industrial power in one huge leap. Communist Party cadres across China insisted that peasants abandon their farms for collective farms. They began to produce steel in small foundries, often melting down farm instruments in the process. Collectivization undermined incentives for investing labor and resources in agriculture. Unrealistic plans for decentralized metal production sapped needed labor. Unfavorable weather conditions compounded the disaster. Communal dining halls encouraged overconsumption of available food. Centralized control of information meant party cadres reported only good news such as production quotas met or exceeded. Information about the escalating disaster was effectively suppressed. When leadership finally became aware of the scale of the famine, they did little to respond. They continued to ban any discussion of the cataclysm. This blanket suppression of news was so effective that very few Chinese citizens were aware of the scale of the famine. The greatest peacetime demographic disaster of the 20th century only became widely known twenty years later when the veil of censorship began to lift. Estimates range from 18 million to at least 42 million deaths.
A notable period of famine occurred around the turn of the 20th century in the Congo Free State. King Leopold used mass labor camps to finance his empire. This period resulted in the death of up to 10 million Congolese from brutality, disease, and famine. Some colonial pacification efforts caused severe famine, notably with the repression of the Maji Maji revolt in Tanganyika in 1906. The introduction of cash crops such as cotton sometimes impoverished the peasantry in many areas. Forcible measures impelled farmers to grow these crops, contributing to greater vulnerability to famine when severe drought struck in 1913. A large-scale famine occurred in Ethiopia in 1888 and in succeeding years. Rinderpest epizootic introduced into Eritrea by infected cattle spread southwards reaching ultimately as far as South Africa. In Ethiopia it was estimated that as much as 90 percent of the national herd died. Rich farmers and herders were rendered destitute overnight. This coincided with drought associated with an El Niño oscillation, human epidemics of smallpox, and intense war. The Ethiopian Great famine that afflicted Ethiopia from 1888 to 1892 cost it roughly one-third of its population.
The Great Famine of 1315, 1317 marked the first major food crisis to strike Europe in the 14th century. Millions in northern Europe died over an extended number of years. An unusually cold and wet spring of 1315 led to widespread crop failures lasting until at least the summer of 1317. Some regions in Europe did not fully recover until 1322. Most nobles, cities, and states were slow to respond to the crisis. When they realized its severity, they had little success in securing food for their people. In 1315, in Norfolk, England, the price of grain soared from 5 shillings per quarter to 20 shillings per quarter. It was a period marked by extreme levels of criminal activity, disease, mass death, infanticide, and cannibalism. There were 95 famines in medieval Britain and 75 or more in medieval France. More than 10% of England's population, or at least 500,000 people, may have died during the famine of 1315, 1316. The last major famine in the USSR happened in 1947 due to severe drought and mismanagement of grain reserves. The Hunger Plan caused the deaths of many civilians under Nazi occupation. The Russian Academy of Sciences reported civilian victims in the USSR at German hands totaled 13.7 million dead.
In August 2024, famine was declared in Sudan where several refugee camps faced severe conditions. Over 24 million people are facing acute food insecurity according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification analysis. UN experts accused the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces of using starvation tactics against civilians. They stated never in modern history have so many people faced starvation and famine as in Sudan today. In August 2025, famine was declared in Gaza. More than half a million people in Gaza were trapped in famine marked by widespread starvation, destitution, and preventable deaths. Access to food remains severely constrained. In July, the number of households reporting very severe hunger doubled across the territory compared to May. More than tripled in Gaza City. Malnutrition among children is accelerating at a catastrophic pace. In July alone, more than 12,000 children were identified as acutely malnourished. Nearly one in four of these children suffered from severe acute malnutrition. Approximately 98 percent of cropland in the territory is damaged or inaccessible. Nine of ten people have been serially displaced from homes. Cash is critically scarce and aid operations remain severely disrupted.
As of 2022, approximately 34% of the world's agricultural land is degraded according to Yale climate connections reports. If current trends of soil degradation continue in Africa, the continent might be able to feed just 20% of its population by 2030. Water deficits are already spurring heavy grain imports in numerous smaller countries. The water tables are falling in many countries including Northern China, the US, and India due to widespread overconsumption. Other countries affected include Pakistan, Iran, and Mexico. This will eventually lead to water scarcity and cutbacks in grain harvest. Even while overexploiting its aquifers, China has developed a grain deficit contributing to upward pressure on grain prices. Four of these countries already import a large share of their grain. Only Pakistan remains marginally self-sufficient. But with a population expanding by 4 million a year, it will also soon turn to the world market for grain. According to a UN climate report, Himalayan glaciers could disappear by 2350 as temperatures rise and human demand increases. Approximately 2.4 billion people live in the drainage basin of the Himalayan rivers. India, China, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Myanmar could experience floods followed by severe droughts in coming decades.
Common questions
What are the three specific conditions required to declare Phase 5 famine according to Integrated Food Security Phase Classification criteria?
Phase 5 famine requires at least 20% of households in an area to face extreme food shortages with limited ability to cope. The prevalence of acute malnutrition in children must exceed 30%. Finally, the death rate must surpass two people per 10,000 per day.
When did the Great Famine strike Europe and what were the primary causes of crop failure during that period?
The Great Famine struck Europe between 1315 and 1317 due to an unusually cold and wet spring of 1315. Widespread crop failures lasted until at least the summer of 1317 and some regions did not fully recover until 1322.
How many deaths occurred during the largest famine of the 20th century in China between 1958 and 1961?
Estimates for the Chinese famine range from 18 million to at least 42 million deaths. This event remains the greatest peacetime demographic disaster of the 20th century and only became widely known twenty years later when censorship began to lift.
What caused the Ethiopian Great famine that afflicted Ethiopia from 1888 to 1892 and how much population was lost?
The Ethiopian Great famine resulted from a combination of Rinderpest epizootic which killed 90 percent of the national herd, drought associated with an El Niño oscillation, human epidemics of smallpox, and intense war. The crisis cost roughly one-third of its population.
When was famine declared in Sudan and what number of people face acute food insecurity there according to UN analysis?
Famine was declared in Sudan in August 2024 where over 24 million people are facing acute food insecurity. UN experts stated never in modern history have so many people faced starvation and famine as in Sudan today.