This article needs to be updated.(January 2017) |
Date | Event | Location | Death toll (where known; estimated) |
---|---|---|---|
2200 BC–2100 BC | The 4.2-kiloyear event caused famines and civilizational collapse worldwide | Global | |
441 BC | The first famine recorded in ancient Rome. | Ancient Rome [1] | |
103 BC–89 BC | Beminitiya Seya during the reign of the Five Dravidians [2] | Anuradhapura Kingdom | |
26 BC | Famine recorded throughout Near East and Levant, as recorded by Josephus | Judea | 20,000+ |
370 | Famine in Phrygia | Phrygia | |
372–373 | Famine in Edessa | Edessa | |
400–800 | Various famines in Western Europe associated with the Fall of the Western Roman Empire and its sack by Alaric I. Between 400 and 800 AD, the population of the city of Rome fell by over 90%, mainly because of famine and plague.[ citation needed ] | Western Europe | |
470 | Famine | Gaul | |
535–536 | Volcanic winter of 536 | Global | |
585 | Famine | Gaul | |
639 | Famine in Arabia during the reign of Umar [3] | Arabia | |
698–700 | Famine | Ireland [4] | |
750s | Islamic Spain (Al-Andalus) [5] | ||
779 | Famine | Francia | |
792–793 | Famine | Francia | |
800–1000 | Severe drought killed millions of Maya people due to famine and thirst and initiated a cascade of internal collapses that destroyed their civilization [6] | Mayan areas of Mesoamerica | 1,000,000+ |
805–806 | Famine | Francia | |
875–884 | Peasant rebellion in China inspired by famine; [7] [8] Huang Chao captured capital | China | |
927–928 | Caused by four months of frost [9] [10] | Byzantine Empire | |
963–968 | Famine | Egypt | |
1005–1006 | Europe [11] | ||
1016 | Famine throughout Europe [12] | Europe | |
1025 | Famine | Egypt | |
1051 | Famine forced the Toltecs to migrate from a stricken region in what is now central Mexico [13] | Mexico (present day) | |
1055–1056 | Famine | Egypt | |
1064–1072 | Mustansirite Hardship [14] [15] | Egypt | 40,000 [14] |
1069–1070 | Harrying of the North | England | 100,000 |
1097 | Famine and plague [16] | France | 100,000 |
1124–1126 | Famine | Europe | |
1143–1147 | Famine | Europe | |
1150–1151 | Famine | Europe | |
1161–1162 | Famine | Aquitaine | |
1181 | Yōwa famine | Japan | 42,300 |
1196–1197 | Famine | Europe | |
1199–1202 | Famine | Egypt | 100,000 |
1224–1226 | Famine | Europe | |
1230 | Famine in the Novgorod Republic [ citation needed ] | Russia | |
1230–1231 | The Kanki famine, possibly the worst famine in Japan's history. [17] Caused by volcanic eruptions. [18] | Japan | 2,000,000 |
1235 | Famine in England [19] | England | 20,000 in London |
1256–1258 | Famine in Italy, Spain, Portugal and England [20] | Europe | |
1264 | Famine | Egypt | |
1275–1277 | Famine [21] | Italy | |
1275–1299 | Collapse of the Anasazi civilization, widespread famine occurred [22] | United States | |
1285–1286 | Famine [21] | Italy | |
1294 | Famine | Egypt | |
1302–1303 | Famine in Spain and Italy [21] | Europe | |
1304 | Famine | France | |
1305 | Famine | France | |
1310 | Famine | France | |
1315–1317 | Great Famine of 1315–1317 | Europe [23] | 7,500,000 |
1319–20 | Great Bovine Pestilence | England | |
1321 | Famine | England | |
1328–1330 | Famine in Italy, Spain and Ireland [21] | Europe | |
1330–1333 | Famine | France | |
1333–1337 | Chinese famine of 1333–1337 | China [24] | 6,000,000 |
1339–1340 | Famine in Italy, Spain and Ireland [21] | Europe | |
1344–1345 | Famine in India, under the reign of Muhammad bin Tughluq [ citation needed ] | India | |
1346–1347 | Famine in France, Italy and Spain [21] | Europe | |
1349–1351 | Famine | France | |
1351 | Famine | England | |
1358–1360 | Famine | France | |
1369 | Famine | England | |
1371 | Famine | France | |
1374–1375 | Famine in France, Italy and Spain [21] | Europe | |
1374–1375 | Famine | Egypt | |
1390–1391 | Famine | France | |
1394–1396 | Famine | Egypt | |
1396–1407 | The Durga Devi famine | India [25] [12] | |
1403–1404 | Famine | Egypt | |
1432–1434 | The Hungry Years | Czech Republic | |
1437–1438 | Famine in France, Holy Roman Empire, and Britain | Europe | |
1441 | Famine in Mayapan | Mexico [26] | |
1450–1454 | Famine in the Aztec Empire, [27] interpreted as the gods' need for sacrifices. [28] | Mexico | |
1460–1461 | Kanshō famine in Japan[ citation needed ] | Japan | 82,000 |
1472–1474 | Famine [29] | Italy | |
1476 | Famine [29] | Italy | |
1482–1484 | Famine [29] | Italy | |
1493 | Famine [29] | Italy | |
1502–1505 | Famine [29] | Italy | |
1504 | Spain [30] | ||
1518 | Venice [ citation needed ] | Italy (present day) | |
1521–1523 | Famine in the Low Countries, Ireland and the Nordic Countries | Europe | |
1527–1530 | Famine [29] | Italy | |
1528 | Famine in Languedoc | France [31] | |
1533–1534 | Famine [29] | Italy | |
1535 | Famine in Ethiopia | Ethiopia | |
1539–1540 | Famine [29] | Italy | |
1540 | Tenbun famine | Japan | |
1544–1545 | Famine [29] | Italy | |
1550–1552 | Famine [29] | Italy | |
1558–1560 | Famine [29] | Italy | |
1567–1570 | Famine in Harar, combined with plague[ citation needed ]. Emir of Harar died. | Ethiopia | |
1569–1574 | Pan-European famine, including Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Low Countries, Nordic Countries, Russia and mostly east of Ukraine [29] | Europe | |
1585–1587 | Pan-European famine, including Italy, France, Low Countries, Britain and Ireland [29] | Europe | |
1590–1598 | Pan-European famine, including Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Britain and the Nordic countries [29] | Europe | |
1592–1594 | Famine during the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598), known in Korea as the Kyegap Famine (Korean : 계갑대기근; Hanja : 癸甲大飢饉). [32] | Joseon | |
1600–1601 | Famine in Emilia and southern Lombardy [33] | Italy | |
1601–1603 | One of the worst famines in all of Russian history, with as many as 100,000 in Moscow and up to one-third of Tsar Godunov's subjects killed; see Russian famine of 1601–1603. [34] [35] The same famine killed about half of the Estonian population. | Russia | 2,000,000 |
1607–1608 | Famine [29] | Italy | |
1618–1648 | Famines in Europe caused by Thirty Years' War | Europe | |
1618–1622 | Famine [29] | Italy | |
1619 | Famine in Japan. During the Edo period, there were 154 famines, of which 21 were widespread and serious. [36] | Japan | |
1626–1627 | Pyŏngjŏng Famine (Korean : 병정대기근; Hanja : 丙丁大飢饉) [37] | Joseon | |
1628–1632 | Famine [29] | Italy | |
1630–1632 | Deccan famine of 1630–1632 | India | 7,400,000 |
1630–1631 | Famine in Northwest China | China | |
1640–1643 | Kan'ei Great Famine | Japan | 50,000–100,000 |
1648–1649 | Famine [29] | Italy | |
1648–1660 | Poland lost an estimated 1/3 of its population due to wars, famine, and plague [ citation needed ] | Poland | |
1649 | Famine in northern England [38] | England | |
1650–1652 | Famine in the east of France [39] | France | |
1651–1653 | Famine throughout much of Ireland during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland [40] | Ireland | |
1661 | Famine in India, due to lack of any rainfall for two years [41] [12] | India | |
1670s – 1680s | Plague and famines in Spain[ citation needed ] | Spain | |
1670–1671 | Kyungshin Famine | Joseon | 1,000,000 [42] –1,500,000 |
1672 | Famine in southern Italy [33] | Italy | |
1678–1679 | Famine [29] | Italy | |
1680 | Famine in Sardinia [43] | Italy (present day) | 80,000 [44] |
1680s | Famine in Sahel [39] | West Africa | |
1690s | Famine throughout Scotland which killed 5–15% of the population [45] | Scotland | 60,000–180,000 |
1693–1694 | Great Famine of 1693–1694 | France | 700,000–1,300,000 [46] [47] |
1693–1695 | Famine [29] | Italy | |
1695–1697 | Great Famine of Estonia killed about a fifth of Estonian and Livonian population (70,000–75,000 people). Famine also hit Sweden (80,000–100,000 dead) | The Swedish Empire, of which Swedish Estonia and Swedish Livonia were dominions at that time | 150,000–175,000[ citation needed ] |
1696–1699 | Ŭlbyŏng famine | Joseon | 1,410,000 per official Annals , but possibly higher. [48] |
1696–1697 | Great Famine of Finland wiped out almost a third of the population [49] | Finland, then part of Sweden proper | 150,000 |
1702–1704 | Famine in Deccan [50] | India | 2,000,000 [50] |
1708–1711 | Famine in East Prussia killed 250,000 people or 41% of its population. [51] According to other sources the great mortality was due to plague (disease), which between 1709 and 1711 killed about 200,000–250,000 out of 600,000 inhabitants of East Prussia. [52] The Great Northern War plague outbreak of 1708–1712 also affected East Prussia. | East Prussia | 250,000 |
1709 | Famine [29] | Italy | |
1709–1710 | The fr:Grande famine de 1709 | France [53] | 600,000 |
1716 | Famine [29] | Italy | |
1722 | Arabia [54] | ||
1724 | Famine [29] | Italy | |
1727–1728 | Famine in the English Midlands [55] | England | |
1732–1733 | Kyōhō famine | Japan | 12,172–169,000 [56] |
1738–1756 | Famine in West Africa, half the population of Timbuktu died of starvation [57] | West Africa | |
1740–1741 | Irish Famine (1740–1741) | Ireland | 300,000–480,000 |
1750–1756 | Famine in the Senegambia region [58] | Senegal, Gambia (present day) | |
1764 | Famine in Naples [59] [29] | Italy (present day) | |
1767 | Famine [29] | Italy | |
1769–1773 | Great Bengal famine of 1770, [12] 10 million dead (one third of population) | India, Bangladesh (present day) | 10,000,000 |
1770–1771 | Famines in Czech lands killed hundreds of thousands people | Czech Republic (present day) | 100,000+ |
1771–1772 | Famine in Saxony and southern Germany[ citation needed ] | Germany | |
1773 | Famine in Sweden [60] | Sweden | |
1779 | Famine in Rabat | Morocco [61] | |
1780s | Great Tenmei famine | Japan | 20,000 – 920,000 |
1783 | Famine in Iceland caused by Laki eruption killed one-fifth of Iceland's population [62] | Iceland | |
1783–1784 | Chalisa famine | India | 11,000,000 [63] |
1784 | Widespread famine throughout Egypt [64] | Egypt | |
1784–1785 | Famine in Tunisia[ citation needed ] | Tunisia | |
1788 | The two years previous to the French Revolution saw bad harvests and harsh winters, possibly because of a strong El Niño cycle [65] or caused by the 1783 Laki eruption in Iceland. [66] [67] | France | |
1789 | Famine in Ethiopia afflicted "amhara/tigray north" | Ethiopia | |
1789–1793 | Doji bara famine or Skull famine | India | 11,000,000 |
1801 | Famine [29] | Italy | |
1804–1872, 1913 | A series of 14 famines in Austrian Galicia | Poland, Ukraine (present day) | 400,000–550,000 |
1809–1815 | Crop failure due to dry weather conditions. | Joseon | 2,000,000 [68] |
1811–1812 | Famine devastated Madrid [69] | Spain | 20,000 [70] |
1815 | Eruption of Tambora, Indonesia. Tens of thousands died in subsequent famine | Indonesia | 10,000 |
1816–1817 | Year Without a Summer | Europe | 65,000 |
1830–1833 | Claimed to have killed 42% of the population | Cape Verde | 30,000 [71] |
1832–1833 | Guntur famine of 1832 | India | 150,000 |
1833–1837 | Tenpō famine | Japan | |
1837–1838 | Agra famine of 1837–1838 | India | 800,000 |
1845–1857 | Highland Potato Famine | Scotland | |
1845–1849 | Great Famine in Ireland killed more than 600,000 out of over 10 million people inhabiting Ireland. Between 1.5–2 million people forced to emigrate [72] | Ireland | 600,000 to over 1,500,000 that emigrated+ |
1846 | Famine led to the peasant revolt known as "Maria da Fonte" in the north of Portugal [ citation needed ] | Portugal | |
1846–1848 | The Newfoundland Potato Famine, related to the Irish Potato Famine. | Newfoundland, present-day Canada | |
1849–1850 | Demak and Grobogan in Central Java, caused by four successive crop failures due to drought. | Indonesia | 83,000 [73] |
1860–1861 | Upper Doab famine of 1860–1861 | India | 2,000,000 |
1863–1867 | Famine in Cape Verde | Cape Verde | 30,000 [74] |
1866 | Orissa famine of 1866 | India | 1,000,000 [75] |
1866–1868 | Finnish famine of 1866–1868. About 15% of the entire population died | Finland | 150,000+ |
1866–1868 | Famine in French Algeria | French Algeria | 820,000 |
1867–1869 | Swedish famine of 1867–1869 | Sweden | |
1869 | Rajputana famine of 1869 | India | 1,500,000 [75] |
1869–1870 | Famines due to weather, with North Hamgyong Province particularly affected. [76] | Joseon | |
1870–1872 | Persian famine of 1870–1872 | Iran | 200,000–3,000,000 Estimates vary [77] |
1873–1874 | Famine in Anatolia caused by drought and floods [78] [79] | Turkey (present day) | |
1873–1874 | Bihar famine of 1873–1874 | India | |
1876–1878 | Great Indian Famine of 1876–1878 | India | 5,500,000 |
1876–1879 | Northern Chinese Famine of 1876–1879 | China | 9,000,000–13,000,000 |
1876–1878 | Brazilian drought of 1877–1878, also known as the Grande Seca | Brazil | 500,000 |
1878–1880 | St. Lawrence Island famine, Alaska [80] | United States | 1,000 |
1879 | 1879 Famine in Ireland. Unlike previous famines, this famine mainly caused hunger and food shortages but little mortality. | Ireland | |
1888–1889 | Famine in Orrisa, Ganjam and Northern Bihar | India | 150,000 |
1888–1892 | Ethiopian Great famine. About one-third of the population died. [81] [82] Conditions worsen with cholera outbreaks (1889–92), a typhus epidemic, and a major smallpox epidemic (1889–90). | Ethiopia | 1,000,000 |
1891–1892 | Russian famine of 1891–1892. Beginning along the Volga River and spreading to the Urals and the Black Sea. | Russia | 375,000–500,000 [83] [84] |
1895–1898 | Famine during the Cuban War of Independence | Cuba | 200,000–300,000 |
1896–1897 | Famine in northern China leading in part to the Boxer Rebellion | China | |
1896–1902 | Indian famine of 1896–1897 and Indian famine of 1899–1900 due to drought and British policies. [85] [86] [87] | India | 2,000,000 (British territories), mortality unknown in princely states |
1900–1903 | Famine in Cape Verde | Cape Verde | 11,000–20,000 [74] |
1904–1906 | Famine in Spain [88] [89] [90] | Spain | |
1906–1907 | Chinese famine of 1906–1907 | China | 20,000,000–25,000,000 [91] |
1914–1918 | Mount Lebanon famine during World War I which was caused by the Entente and Ottoman blockade of food and to a swarm of locusts which killed up to 200,000 people, estimated to be half of the Mount Lebanon population [92] | Lebanon | 200,000 |
1914–1919 | Famine caused by the Allied blockade of Germany during World War I until Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles. [93] | Germany | 763,000 |
1917 | Famine in German East Africa | German East Africa | 300,000 |
1917–1919 | Persian famine of 1917–1919 | Iran | 2,000,000, [94] but estimates range as high as 10,000,000 [95] |
1918–1919 | Rumanura famine in Ruanda-Burundi, causing large migrations to the Congo | Rwanda and Burundi (present day)[ citation needed ] | |
1919–1922 | Kazakh famine of 1919–1922. A series of famines in Turkestan at the time of the Bolshevik revolution killed about a sixth of the population | Turkestan | [96] |
1920–1921 | Famine in northern China | China | 500,000 |
1920–1922 | Famine in Cape Verde | Cape Verde | 24,000–25,000 [74] |
1921 | Russian famine of 1921–1922 | Russia | 5,000,000 [97] |
1921–1922 | 1921–1922 famine in Tatarstan | Russia | 500,000–2,000,000 [98] |
1921–1923 | 1921–1923 famine in Soviet Russian Ukraine | Ukraine | 250,000–1,000,000 [99] |
1924–1925 | Famine in Volga German colonies in Russia. One-third of the entire population perished [100] [ unreliable source? ] | Russia | |
1924–1925 | Minor famine in Ireland due to heavy rain | Irish Free State [ citation needed ] | |
1926 | Famine in Darfur [101] | Darfur, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan | |
1928–1929 | Famine in Ruanda-Burundi, causing large migrations to the Congo | Rwanda and Burundi (present day) | |
1928–1930 | Chinese famine of 1928–1930 in northern China. The drought resulted in million of deaths | China | 3,000,000–10,000,000 |
1930–1931 | Famine | Madagascar | 32,000 |
1932–1933 | Soviet famine of 1932–1933, including famine in Ukraine, and famine in Kazakhstan, caused by Soviet collectivization policy, abnormal cold period, [102] and bad harvests in the years of 1931–1932. [103] | Russian SFSR, Ukrainian SSR, and Kazakh ASSR | 5,000,000 [103] –7,000,000 [104] |
1939–1952 | Famine in Spain caused primarily by the implementation of the autarkic economy | Spain | 200,000 [105] [106] |
1940–1943 | Famine in Cape Verde | Cape Verde | 20,000 [74] |
1940–1945 | Famine in Warsaw Ghetto, as well as other ghettos and concentration camps (note: this famine was the result of deliberate denial of food to ghetto residents on the part of Nazis). [107] | Occupied Poland | |
1940–1948 | Famine in Morocco between 1940 and 1948, because of refueling system installed by France. [108] | Morocco | 200,000 |
1941–1944 | Leningrad famine caused by a 900-day blockade by German troops. About a million Leningrad residents starved, froze, or were bombed to death in the winter of 1941–42, when supply routes to the city were cut off and temperatures dropped to −40 °C (−40 °F). [109] According to other estimates about 800,000 out of an immediate pre-siege population of about 2.5 million perished. [110] | Soviet Union | 800,000–1,000,000 |
1941–1944 | Famine in Greece caused by the Axis occupation. [111] [112] | Greece | 300,000 |
1941–1942 | Famine in Kharkiv. In a city with a population of about 450,000 while under German occupation, there was a famine starting in the winter of 1941–42 that lasted until the end of September 1942. The local administration recorded 19,284 deaths between the second half of December 1941 and the second half of September 1942, thereof 11,918 (59.6%) from hunger. [113] The Foreign Office representative at Army High Command 6 noted on 25.03.1942 that according to reports reaching municipal authorities at least 50 people were dying of hunger every day, and that the true number might be much higher as in many cases the cause of death was stated as "unknown" and besides many deaths were not reported. [114] British historian Alex Kay estimates that at least 30,000 city inhabitants died in the famine. [115] According to Soviet sources about 70–80,000 people died of starvation in Kharkiv during the occupation by Nazi Germany. [116] | Soviet Union | 30,000–80,000 |
1941–1943 | Famine in Kyiv. On April 1, 1942, well after the first winter of famine, Kyiv officially had about 352,000 inhabitants. In the middle of 1943—more than four months before the end of German rule—the city officially had about 295,600. Death by starvation was not the only reason for the rapid decline in population: deportation to Germany and Nazi shootings also played their part. Nevertheless, starvation was an important factor. [117] British historian Alex Kay estimates that about 10,000 city inhabitants died of starvation. [118] | Soviet Union | 10,000 |
1942–1943 | Chinese famine of 1942–1943 | Henan, China | 700,000 |
1942–1943 | Iranian famine of 1942–1943 | Iran | 3,000,000 [119] [ better source needed ] |
1943 | Bengal famine of 1943 | Bengal, India, Bangladesh | 2,100,000 |
1943–1944 | Ruzagayura famine in Ruanda-Urundi, causing emigrations to Congo | Rwanda and Burundi (present day) | 36,000–50,000 |
1943–1945 | Famine in Hadhramaut | Yemen (present day) | 10,000 [120] [121] |
1944–1945 | Java under Japanese occupation | Java, Indonesia | 2,400,000 [122] |
1944 | Dutch famine of 1944–1945 during World War II | Netherlands | 20,000 |
1944–1945 | Vietnamese famine of 1944–1945 | Vietnam | 600,000–2,000,000 [123] |
1945–1947 | Famine in Königsberg (Kaliningrad) | Soviet Union | 57,000–76,500 [124] |
1946–1947 | German "Hungerwinter" | Germany | >100,000 [125] |
1946–1947 | Soviet famine of 1946–1947 | Soviet Union | 1,000,000–1,500,000 [126] [127] |
1946–1948 | Famine in Cape Verde | Cape Verde | 30,000 [74] |
1949 | Nyasaland famine of 1949 | Malawi | 200 |
1950 | 1950 Caribou Inuit famine | Canada | 60 |
1958 | Famine in Tigray | Ethiopia | 100,000 |
1959–1961 | The Great Chinese Famine [128] [129] [130] Some researchers also include the year 1958 or 1962. | China (mainland) | 15,000,000–55,000,000 [129] [131] [132] |
1966–1967 | Lombok, drought and malnutrition, exacerbated by restrictions on regional rice trade | Indonesia | 50,000 [133] |
1966–1967 | Rice crisis [134] | Burma | |
1967–1970 | Biafran famine caused by Nigerian blockade | Biafra | 2,000,000 |
1968–1972 | Sahel drought created a famine that killed a million people [135] | Mauritania, Mali, Chad, Niger and Burkina Faso | 1,000,000[ citation needed ] |
1971–1973 | Afghanistan drought | Afghanistan | |
1972–1973 | Famine in Ethiopia caused by drought and poor governance; failure of the government to handle this crisis led to the fall of Haile Selassie and to Derg rule | Ethiopia | 60,000 [136] |
1973 | Darfur drought | Darfur, Sudan | 1,000 |
1974 | Bangladesh famine of 1974 | Bangladesh | 27,000–1,500,000[ citation needed ] |
1975–1979 | Khmer Rouge. A maximum estimate of 500,000 Cambodians lost their lives to famine | Cambodia | 500,000 [137] |
1980–1981 | Caused by drought and conflict [136] | Uganda | 30,000 [136] |
1982–1985 | Famine caused by the Mozambican Civil War | Mozambique | 100,000 |
1983–1985 | 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia | Ethiopia | 400,000–600,000 [138] |
1984–1985 | Famine caused by drought, economic crisis and the Second Sudanese Civil War | Sudan | 240,000 |
1988 | Famine caused by the Second Sudanese Civil War | Sudan | 100,000 |
1991–1992 | Famine in Somalia caused by drought and civil war [136] | Somalia | 300,000 [136] |
1993 | 1993 Sudan famine | Sudan | 20,000 [139] |
1994–1998 | North Korean famine. [140] [141] Scholars estimate 600,000 died of starvation (other estimates range from 200,000 to 3.5 million). [142] | North Korea | 200,000–3,500,000 |
1998 | 1998 Sudan famine caused by war and drought | Sudan | 70,000 [136] |
1998 | 1998 Afghanistan famine | Afghanistan | |
1998–2000 | Famine in Ethiopia. The situation worsened by Eritrean–Ethiopian War | Ethiopia | |
1998–2004 | Second Congo War. 2.7 million people died, mostly from starvation and disease | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 2,700,000 |
2003–2005 | Famine during the War in Darfur | Sudan | 200,000 |
2005–2006 | 2005–2006 Niger food crisis. At least three million were affected in Niger and 10 million throughout West Africa [ citation needed ] | Niger and West Africa | |
2011–2012 | Famine in Somalia, brought on by the 2011 East Africa drought [143] | Somalia | 285,000 |
2012 | Famine in West Africa, brought on by the 2012 Sahel drought [144] | Senegal, Gambia, Niger, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso | |
2016–present | Famine in Yemen, arising from the Yemeni Civil War and the subsequent blockade of Yemen by Saudi Arabia | Yemen | 85,000 children as of 2017. [145] Unknown number of adults. |
2017 | Famine in South Sudan [146] Famine in Somalia, due to 2017 Somali drought. Famine in Nigeria | South Sudan, Unity State, Somalia, and Nigeria. | |
2020–present | Famine in the Tigray War | Tigray, Ethiopia | 150,000–200,000+ [147] |
2021–present | 2021–2022 Madagascar famine | Madagascar | |
2023–present | Gaza Strip famine | Gaza Strip, Palestine | 37+ (minimum estimate) [148] |
2023–present | 2024 Sudan famine | Sudan | 276+ [149] [ better source needed ] |
The Great Famine, also known as the Great Hunger, the Famine and the Irish Potato Famine, was a period of starvation and disease in Ireland lasting from 1845 to 1852 that constituted a historical social crisis and subsequently had a major impact on Irish society and history as a whole. The most severely affected areas were in the western and southern parts of Ireland—where the Irish language was dominant—and hence the period was contemporaneously known in Irish as an Drochshaol, which literally translates to "the bad life" and loosely translates to "the hard times". The worst year of the famine was 1847, which became known as "Black '47". The population of Ireland on the eve of the famine was about 8.5 million, by 1901 it was just 4.4 million. During the Great Hunger, roughly 1 million people died and more than 1 million more fled the country, causing the country's population to fall by 20–25% between 1841 and 1871. Between 1845 and 1855, at least 2.1 million people left Ireland, primarily on packet ships but also on steamboats and barques—one of the greatest exoduses from a single island in history.
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food caused by several possible factors, including, but not limited to war, natural disasters, crop failure, widespread poverty, an economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Every inhabited continent in the world has experienced a period of famine throughout history. During the 19th and 20th century, Southeast and South Asia, as well as Eastern and Central Europe, suffered the greatest number of fatalities. Deaths caused by famine declined sharply beginning in the 1970s, with numbers falling further since 2000. Since 2010, Africa has been the most affected continent in the world by famine.
The Great Chinese Famine was a famine that occurred between 1959 and 1961 in the People's Republic of China (PRC). Some scholars have also included the years 1958 or 1962. It is widely regarded as the deadliest famine and one of the greatest man-made disasters in human history, with an estimated death toll due to starvation that ranges in the tens of millions. The most stricken provinces were Anhui, Chongqing (15%), Sichuan (13%), Guizhou (11%) and Hunan (8%).
The Bengal famine of 1943 was a famine in the Bengal province of British India during World War II. An estimated 0.8–3.8 million people died, in the Bengal region, from starvation, malaria and other diseases aggravated by malnutrition, population displacement, unsanitary conditions, poor British wartime policies and lack of health care. Millions were impoverished as the crisis overwhelmed large segments of the economy and catastrophically disrupted the social fabric. Eventually, families disintegrated; men sold their small farms and left home to look for work or to join the British Indian Army, and women and children became homeless migrants, often travelling to Calcutta or other large cities in search of organised relief.
Throughout Russian history famines, droughts and crop failures occurred on the territory of Russia, the Russian Empire and the USSR on more or less regular basis. From the beginning of the 11th to the end of the 16th century, on the territory of Russia for every century there were 8 crop failures, which were repeated every 13 years, sometimes causing prolonged famine in a significant territory. The causes of the famine were different, from natural and economic and political crises; for example, the Great Famine of 1931–1933, colloquially called the Holodomor, the cause of which was the collectivization policy in the USSR, which affected the territory of the Volga region in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan.
Famines in Ethiopia have occurred periodically throughout the history of the country.
Famine had been a recurrent feature of life in the South Asian subcontinent countries of India and Bangladesh, most notoriously under British rule. Famines in India resulted in millions of deaths over the course of the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries. Famines in British India were severe enough to have a substantial impact on the long-term population growth of the country in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
The Tenpō famine, also known as the Great Tenpō famine, was a famine that affected Japan during the Edo period. Considered to have lasted from 1833 to 1837, it was named after the Tenpō era (1830–1844), during the reign of Emperor Ninkō. The death toll was estimated between 200,000 and 300,000. The ruling shōgun during the famine was Tokugawa Ienari.
The North Korean famine, also known as the Arduous March, was a period of mass starvation together with a general economic crisis from 1994 to 1998 in North Korea. During this time there was an increase in defection from North Korea which peaked towards the end of the famine period.
The timeline of major famines in India during British rule covers major famines on the Indian subcontinent from 1765 to 1947. The famines included here occurred both in the princely states, British India and Indian territories independent of British rule such as the Maratha Empire.
The Great Famine of 1876–1878 was a famine in India under British Crown rule. It began in 1876 after an intense drought resulted in crop failure in the Deccan Plateau. It affected south and Southwestern India—the British-administered presidencies of Madras and Bombay, and the princely states of Mysore and Hyderabad—for a period of two years. In 1877, famine came to affect regions northward, including parts of the Central Provinces and the North-Western Provinces, and a small area in Punjab. The famine ultimately affected an area of 670,000 square kilometres (257,000 sq mi) and caused distress to a population totalling 58,500,000. The excess mortality in the famine has been estimated in a range whose low end is 5.6 million human fatalities, high end 9.6 million fatalities, and a careful modern demographic estimate 8.2 million fatalities. The famine is also known as the Southern India famine of 1876–1878 and the Madras famine of 1877.
Mass killings under communist regimes occurred through a variety of means during the 20th century, including executions, famine, deaths through forced labour, deportation, starvation, and imprisonment. Some of these events have been classified as genocides or crimes against humanity. Other terms have been used to describe these events, including classicide, democide, red holocaust, and politicide. The mass killings have been studied by authors and academics and several of them have postulated the potential causes of these killings along with the factors which were associated with them. Some authors have tabulated a total death toll, consisting of all of the excess deaths which cumulatively occurred under the rule of communist states, but these death toll estimates have been criticised. Most frequently, the states and events which are studied and included in death toll estimates are the Holodomor and the Great Purge in the Soviet Union, the Great Chinese Famine and the Cultural Revolution in the People's Republic of China, and the Cambodian genocide in Democratic Kampuchea. Estimates of individuals killed range from a low of 10–20 million to as high as 148 million.
The Soviet famine of 1946–1947 was a major famine in the Soviet Union that lasted from mid-1946 to the winter of 1947 to 1948. It was also the last major famine in Soviet history.
Cormac Ó Gráda is an Irish economic historian and professor emeritus of economics at University College Dublin. His research has focused on the economic history of Ireland, Irish demographic changes, the Great Irish Famine, and the history of the Jews in Ireland.
The Henan Famine of 1942–1943 occurred in Henan, most particularly within the eastern and central part of the province. The famine occurred within the context of the Second Sino-Japanese War and resulted from a combination of natural and human factors. Modern quantitative studies put the death toll to be "well under one million", probably around 700,000. 15 years later Henan was struck by the deadlier Great Chinese famine.
The Persian famine of 1917–1919 was a period of widespread mass starvation and disease in Iran under the rule of the Qajar dynasty during World War I. The famine took place in the territory of Iran, which, despite declaring neutrality, was occupied by the forces of the British, Russian, and Ottoman empires whose occupation contributed to the famine. So far, few historians have researched the famine, making it an understudied subject of modern history.
Estimates of the number of deaths attributable to the Soviet revolutionary and dictator Joseph Stalin vary widely. The scholarly consensus affirms that archival materials declassified in 1991 contain irrefutable data far superior to sources used prior to 1991, such as statements from emigres and other informants.
The Bengal famine of 1943-44 was a major famine in the Bengal province in British India during World War II. An estimated 2.1 million, out of a population of 60.3 million, died from starvation, malaria and other diseases aggravated by malnutrition, population displacement, unsanitary conditions, and lack of health care. Millions were impoverished as the crisis overwhelmed large segments of the economy and social fabric.
The Famine Inquiry Commission, also known as the Woodhead Commission, was appointed by the Government of British India in 1944 to investigate the 1943 Bengal famine. Controversially, it declined to blame the British government and emphasised the natural, rather than man-made, causes of the famine.
{{citation}}
: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of August 2024 (link)A debilitating famine, caused by a persistent drought which lasted from the spring of 1904 until summer 1906, bringing death and starvation to the South, raised the expectations of agrarian reformers that the Madrid authorities would vote additional funds for that region.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)Food supply remained deficient for most of 1979 and the famine could not be completely avoided. The most dramatic estimates of its toll are around 500,000 deaths (Ea, 1987; Banister and Johnson, 1993; Sliwinski, 1995) but those are again contested as much too high (Kiernan, 1986).