National Nutrition Agency States School Feeding Programme Ranked Second Globally, Surpassing China and United States

JAKARTA — The National Nutrition Agency (BGN) has stated that the World Food Programme (WFP) has ranked Indonesia as the second highest country in the world in providing school meals to students.

According to a BGN press release released on 3 March 2026, out of 174 countries worldwide, 107 have implemented school feeding programmes as national programmes.

The BGN stated that the humanitarian organisation under the United Nations reported that Indonesia’s school feeding programme beneficiaries reached 61,239,037 people, with 49,057,682 of them being schoolchildren.

The global rankings for school feeding programmes show India in first place with 118 million students, followed by Indonesia with 49,057,682 students, Brazil with 38,531,387 students, China with 34,570,000 students, and the United States with 30,100,000 students.

“With more than 61.2 million beneficiaries, Indonesia is now one of the countries with the largest school feeding programmes in the world. This demonstrates the government’s commitment to ensuring every child has access to safe, nutritious, and quality food,” said Khairul Hidayati, Head of the Legal Bureau and Public Relations of the BGN.

According to Hidayati, Indonesia’s school feeding programme aims not only to ensure the availability of nutritious food for students but also serves as a long-term investment in building the quality of Indonesia’s human resources.

“With the number of beneficiaries reaching 61.2 million people, this programme is expected to strengthen health, learning concentration, and support the emergence of a healthy, intelligent, and productive generation of Indonesians,” she added.