Ireland has dropped to second place in the Global Food Security Index (GFSI) published by Economist Impact for 2022 with a score of 81.7 out of a possible 100 compared with 83.7 for Finland. Norway is third at 80.5, while France is fourth at 80.2 and the UK ranks ninth at 78.8. Ireland had been in top place last year on a score of 84.0.

At the opposite end of the scale, Syria is the least food secure country in the world with a score of just 36.3, followed by Haiti at 38.5, Yemen at 40.1 and Sierra Leone at 40.5.

The overall GFSI score across the 113 countries monitored peaked at 62.6 in 2019, following eight years of consecutive growth since the index was launched in 2011. Since then it has plateaued, with the 2022 overall figure marginally lower than 2019 at 62.2 out of 100. Affordability shows the biggest decline, falling from 71.9 in 2019 to 69 in 2022.