WORLD BRIEFING / ITALY

More than a billion people, a sixth of the world’s population, are now hungry, a historic high due largely to the global economic crisis and high food prices, a U.N. agency said.

Compared with last year, there are 100 million more people who are hungry, meaning they consume fewer than 1,800 calories a day, the Food and Agriculture Organization said.

Almost all the world’s undernourished live in developing countries, where food prices have fallen more slowly than in richer nations. Officials presenting the new estimates in Rome emphasized the link between hunger and peace, noting that soaring prices for staples triggered riots last year.

Hunger increased despite strong cereal production in 2009 and a mild retreat in prices from the highs of mid-2008. However, average prices at the end of last year were still 24% higher in real terms than in 2006. The economic crisis has meant people must also deal with job losses.