The Philippines ranked 67th out of 122 countries in the 2026 Global Hunger Index (GHI), an annual report published by Welthungerhilfe, the Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict, and Helvetas. The country posted a score of 13.5 on the index's 0-to-100 scale, placing it in the "moderate" hunger category.

A rank of 67 places the Philippines in the lower half of the 122 countries assessed. Its score was worse than the regional average of 81 but better than the global average of 18.1, a spread that shows the country trailing its regional peers even as it performs better than the world at large.

The GHI combines four indicators that capture the multidimensional nature of hunger: undernourishment (the share of the population whose caloric intake is insufficient), child stunting (children under five with low height for their age), child wasting (children under five with low weight for their height), and child mortality (the share of children who die before their fifth birthday). The child-focused measures mean the score reflects nutrition conditions in early childhood as well as overall food supply.

The index is published annually to measure and track hunger at the global, regional, and national levels. Scores are calculated on a 100-point scale in which 0 represents the best possible result and 100 the worst, and countries are classified into severity levels ranging from "low" to "extremely alarming." With new editions issued each year, future reports will show whether the Philippines' score and ranking move closer to or further from the regional average.

Further details are available on the official Global Hunger Index website.

This article first appeared on BusinessWorld.