Quiz: How much do you know about the world’s worst crises?

Years of civil war in Sudan have compounded an already desperate situation, creating the largest humanitarian crisis in the world. More than 12 million people have been displaced, and nearly two-thirds of the population needs aid. The 2026 Watchlist marks the third year in a row that Sudan tops the list.

The 20 countries on the Emergency Watchlist are home to 12 percent of the global population but account for 89 percent of all people in humanitarian need.

Conflict is the primary cause of extreme hunger worldwide, and attacks directly affecting food security (including strikes on warehouses, supply convoys and agricultural sites), have surged globally.

Four out of five people displaced globally (80 percent) have been uprooted by conflict, violence or persecution in Watchlist countries. Nearly 60 percent of displaced people remain within their own countries.

The 11 African countries on the 2026 Watchlist account for just 8 percent of the global population but are home to two-thirds of the world’s extreme poor, as well as a third of the world’s forcibly displaced people, a third of those living in extreme poverty, and a third of people in humanitarian need.

Millions of Haitians face worsening violence, hunger and displacement in 2026 due to armed gang rule and political chaos following the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.

La Niña and its cooler-than-normal sea temperatures are expected to cause flooding in Ethiopia’s north and drought in the south, worsening acute hunger and disease outbreaks.