Which explanation most accurately accounts for why Sub‑Saharan Africa can have the highest percentage of undernourished people while South Asia has the largest absolute number of undernourished people?

Sub‑Saharan Africa has a higher prevalence (percentage) due to concentrated poverty and weaker food systems in many countries, while South Asia has a much larger population overall, producing a larger absolute count even at a lower prevalence.

Sub‑Saharan Africa has more undernourishment because land area is larger and yields per hectare are uniformly lower there, and South Asia’s larger absolute numbers are due to better international aid inflows that paradoxically increase recorded undernourishment counts.

Sub‑Saharan Africa’s percentage appears higher solely because of measurement differences in how body weight is recorded, whereas South Asia’s absolute figures are artificially inflated by counting non‑resident populations.

South Asia’s absolute numbers are higher because that region reports higher percentages in every country, while Sub‑Saharan Africa’s higher percentage is an artifact of sampling bias in global nutrition surveys.