The 10th edition of the Global Food Security Index (GFSI) 2021 of 113 countries was released in which India ranked at 71st position scoring 57.2 overall points. The index is designed and constructed by Economist Impact and is sponsored by Corteva Agriscience.
- It is topped by Ireland with an overall score of 84 which is followed by Austria (81.3) and the United Kingdom-UK (81).
Basis of Index Analysis:
It is premised upon 58 indicators with four overarching categories viz. Affordability; Availability; Quality and Safety; and Natural Resources and Resilience.
Table showing Top 5 countries in GFSI 2021:
| Rank | Country | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 71 | India | 57.2 |
| 1 | Ireland | 84 |
| 2 | Austria | 81.3 |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 81 |
| 4 | Finland | 80.9 |
| 5 | Switzerland | 80.4 |
Table showing Bottom 5 Countries in GFSI 2021:
| Rank | Country | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 113 | Burundi | 34.7 |
| 112 | Yemen | 35.7 |
| 111 | Mozambique | 35.9 |
| 110 | Sudan | 37.1 |
| 109 | Malawi | 37.3 |
Key Points:
i.Among the 4 categories, India ranked 80th in Affordability; 29th in Availability; 74th in Quality and Safety; and 40th in Natural Resources and Resilience.
ii.Notably, Pakistan and Sri Lanka scored better than India in the category of affordability with 52.6 points and 62.9 points respectively.
iii.In the last decade, India’s incremental gains in an overall food security score were lagging behind that of Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh.
- India’s score improved only by 7 points to 57.2 in 2021 from 54.5 in 2012.
iv.In the region of Asia Pacific, Japan scored 1st rank with overall score of 79.3 which is followed by Singapore (77.4), and New Zealand (76.8).
- India ranked 14th under Asia Pacific.
v.Among the bottom 5 nations (mentioned above), 4 are in Sub-Saharan Africa while Yemen is in the Middle East.
vi.As per the index, global food security has decreased for the second year in a row even after 7 years of progress towards the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of achieving zero hunger by 2030.
- To meet the present and emerging future challenges, investments in food security are to be sustained.
Recent Related News:
India’s rank in Global Innovation Index (GII) 2021 by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) improved by two spots to 46th from 48th in GII 2020. It entered into the group of top 50 countries in GII for the 1st time.
About GFSI:
GFSI is an annual update identifying the underlying factors affecting food insecurity around the world.
- Head of the GFSI at Economist Impact– Pratima Singh
