A Global Snapshot of Teen Food Poverty

The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022 results were released by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on Tuesday, marking the first edition of the standardized education achievement tests since the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition to questions on math, science and reading, the triennial PISA exam sought answers on the well-being of students with questions on bullying, mental health and food insecurity.

Students aged 15-years-old were asked whether they have had to skip a meal once per week, 2-3 times per week, 4-5 times per week, every day/almost every day, or never/almost never, in the month leading up to the survey. The results found that in each of the 67 countries and economies that provided data on the question, children were missing out on meals due to being unable to afford them.

Data shows that in 18 countries and economies, more than one in five students reported not eating at least once a week due to lack of money. Cambodia saw the highest rates of teen food insecurity in 2022, with 67.8 percent of children missing at least one meal per week. It was followed by Jamaica (45.3 percent), the Philippines (38.5 percent) and Thailand (27.6 percent).

As the following chart shows, the United Kingdom (10.5 percent) and United States (13 percent) both had higher levels of food insecurity among school children than the OECD average of 8.2 percent, and surpassed other major economies such as France (8.5 percent) and Brazil (8.6 percent). Fifteen countries were below the OECD average, including Ireland (6.9 percent), Finland (2.7) and Portugal (2.6 percent).

According to research cited in the OECD full report, "personal income, food prices, and economic inequality are among the major factors affecting people’s ability to access food."

Furthermore, they explain, if students go hungry, they are unlikely to be able to learn as efficiently: “Given the known relationship between performance and students’ socio-economic status, it is not surprising that there is a negative correlation between food insecurity and mathematics performance in PISA 2022 (Pearson’s r=-0.61)6. Food insecurity can affect not only students’ physical well-being but their educational opportunities and overall quality of life as well.”