List of famines

Scatter plot

List Date Event Location Death toll (where known; estimated)c. 2,700 BCSeven year famine, recorded on the Famine StelaEgypt – The 4.2-kiloyear event caused famines and civilizational collapse worldwide Global The first famine recorded in ancient Rome. Ancient Rome Famine caused by drought during the third year in the Yuanding period. Starvation in over 40 commanderies east of the Hangu mountain pass.Han China–Beminitiya Seya during the reign of the Five DravidiansAnuradhapura kingdom Famine due to volcanic winter following the eruption of Mount Etna in 44 BC and the larger eruption of Mount Okmok early in 43 BC, affecting China (43 BC), Italy (43 BC), Egypt () and Greece (42 BC). Roman Republic, Egypt and China Famine recorded throughout Near East and Levant, as recorded by Josephus Judea + 333 AD Famine in Antioch Coele Syria, Roman Empire368–369Famine during the drought of the 360s–370sCappadocia, Byzantine Empire 370 Famine in Phrygia Phrygia 372–373 Famine in Edessa Edessa 375–376 Famine during the drought of the 360s–370s Byzantine Empire 383 Famine in Rome. A policy had been introduced in 364 AD that stipulated taxes in Rome had to be paid in grain Italian Peninsula 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 80%, mainly because of famine and plague. Western Europe 470 Famine Gaul 535–536 Volcanic winter of 536 Global 544 Famine in Myra Byzantine Empire 585 Famine Gaul 618–619Famine in ConstantinopleByzantine Empire 639 Famine in Arabia during the reign of Umar Arabia 676–678 Famine Thessalonica, Byzantine Empire 698–700 Famine Ireland 750s Famine Islamic Spain (Al-Andalus) 762–764 Famine associated with hard winters and drought Carolingian Europe, the Balkans, the Byzantine Empire and possibly north of the Black Sea 779 Famine Northern Carolingian Europe and possibly Ireland 791–794 Famine, possibly associated with heavy rain, affecting England in 793 Carolingian Europe and England 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. Mayan areas of Mesoamerica + 805–807 Famine associated with a hard winter and drought Northern Carolingian Empire 820–824 Famine associated with heavy rain, hard winters, drought, hail and possibly cattle pestilence Carolingian Empire, possibly Ireland, England and the Byzantine Empire 841–845 Famine associated with heavy rain and hard winters Northern (and possibly southern) Carolingian Empire, the Byzantine Empire and the Middle East 867–869 Famine associated with heavy rain, flooding and possibly cattle pestilence Northern Carolingian Empire 872–874 Famine associated with heavy rain, hail, locusts, a hard winter, drought and Saharan sand Carolingian Empire 875–884 Peasant rebellion in China inspired by famine;Embree, Ainslie Thomas. (1988) Encyclopedia of Asian History, Vol. 2, Scribner, p. 82, : "rebellion between 875 and 884 that devastated almost all of China except the modern province … caused by famine conditions, oppressive taxation,Orient/West – Volume 7. p. 104": The central government was threatened in 875 by a peasant-supported rebellion which gained enough momentum to sweep through the empire. The rebellion, brought under control in 884, hastened the downfall of the empire by encouraging local suzerainty and … The rebellion was aided by drought, famine" Huang Chao captured capital China 895–897 Famine associated with hail and a hard winter Northern Carolingian Europe, England and Ireland 927–928 Famine caused by four months of frost Byzantine Empire 939–944 Famine associated with hard winters, heavy rain, flooding, Saharan sand, locusts and possibly cattle pestilence Northern (and possibly southern) Carolingian Europe, Ireland and the Middle East942–944 Famine in the Yellow River Basin caused by severe drought and locust plagues. During the first month 5387 families fled, then approximately 10% of the remaining population starved to death.China 963–968 Famine Egypt 975–976 Famine England 975–976 Famine Iceland 996–997Famine in the Fatimid Caliphate, with food price increasesEgypt1004–1007 Famine, resulting in food scarcity, price increases and widespread illnesses. Caliph al-Ḥākim punished merchants who raised prices too high with the death penalty, and prohibited the slaughter of healthy cows which could be used for ploughingMaghreb area in Northwest Africa: Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt 1005–1006 Famine, including in England Europe 1010Famine in NīshābūrGhaznavid Empire 1016 Famine throughout Europe Europe 1021 Famine Norway 1025 Famine Egypt 1031Famine caused by a sandstorm that destroyed crops, trees and provisionsArabian Peninsula; Modern day Iraq and Saudi Arabia Famine England 1051 Famine forced the Toltecs to migrate from a stricken region in what is now central Mexico Mexico (present day) 1055–1056 Famine Egypt 1057–1058 Famine Iceland 1064–1072 Mustansirite HardshipThe Encyclopædia Britannica – Volume 9. p. 64 Egypt 1069–1070 Harrying of the North England 1087 Famine England 1097 Famine and plague France 1099–1101 Probable famine Denmark 1111 Famine England 1118 Famine Iceland 1124–1126 Famine in England, the Low Countries and northern France Europe 1143–1147 Famine Europe 1150–1151 Famine Europe 1150–1151 Widespread famine due to wet/cold Japan 1153 Local famine of unknown cause Japan 1155 Widespread famine of unknown cause Japan 1161 Widespread famine of unknown cause Japan 1161–1162 Famine Aquitaine 1174–1175 Local famine due to wet/cold Feudal Japan 1180–1182 Yōwa famine Japan in Kyoto 1182 Famine Norway 1183 Local famine of unknown cause Japan 1185 Widespread famine due to drought Japan 1193–1198 Famine England 1196–1197 Famine Europe 1196–1198 Probable famine Denmark 1199–1202 Famine due to the low water level of the Nile impacting food prices Egypt 1201 Local famine due to wet/cold Japan 1206 Widespread famine of unknown cause Japan 1207–1213 Famine(s), e.g. in 1207 and 1211–1213 Norway 1224–1226 Famine Europe 1225–1226 Probable famine Denmark 1229–1232 The Kanki famine, possibly the worst famine in Japan's history. Caused by volcanic eruptions. Japan 1230 Famine in the Novgorod Republic Novgorod Republic 1233 Local famine due to wet/cold Japan 1235 Famine England in London1252FamineEthiopia 1252 Widespread famine due to wet/cold Japan 1255–1262 Famine in Spain and Portugal Iberian Peninsula 1256 Famine in Tuscany Tuscany 1256–1258 Famine Low Countries 1256–1258 Famine Italy 1257–1260 Shōga famine, aggravated by the 1257 Samalas eruption Accepted manuscript version accessed on 2025-03-07 from https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/68817/1/Guillet_et_al_1257_1258_Nature_Geoscience_Format_Final.pdf. Japan 1258–1259 Famine in England, Italy, France, the Holy Roman Empire and the Iberian Peninsula, aggravated by the 1257 Samalas eruption Western Europe 1263 Famine Ireland 1264 Famine in . The crisis started in February 1264, following a low flooding of the Nile. Egypt 1270–1271 Famine Ireland 1271 Widespread famine due to drought Japan 1271–1272 Famine Italy 1273–1274 Widespread famine due to drought Japan 1275–1277 Famine Italy 1275–1299 Collapse of the Anasazi civilization, widespread famine occurred United States 1279 Famine Russia/Ukraine 1281–1282 Famine Central Europe 1282 Famine Russia/Ukraine 1283 Apparent severe famine Denmark 1285–1286 Famine. (Perhaps 1286 only.) Italy 1291 Famine caused by years of drought and recorded in one chronicle Sweden 1294–1296 Famine caused by sandstorm that covered plantations and destroyed crops. Egypt, Syria, Yemen 1294–1296 Famine lasting 1294–1296 in Ireland and 1295–1296 in Great Britain British Isles 1300 Famine due to the eruption of Hekla Iceland 1301–1302 Famine Spain 1302–1303 Famine Italy 1304 Famine France 1305 Famine France 1308–1310 Famine Russia/Ukraine 1310 Famine France 1310 Probable famine and apparent drought Denmark 1311 Famine Spain 1311–1312 Famine Lombardy, Italy 1313 Famine Pistoia, Tuscany, Italy 1314–1315Famine. Dikes collapsed, fields vanished, crops rotted, and livestock died in huge numbers due to the disease "Rinderpest". The price of wheat jumped "8 fold".England 1315–1317 or 1322 Great Famine of 1315–1317. Famine lasted from 1313–1317 in Spain and 1314–1316 in Russia/Ukraine. Elsewhere, famine began in 1315 and ended in either 1317 (Great Britain, France, the Low Countries, Denmark and Sweden) or 1318 (Central Europe and Ireland). Europe 1319–1320 Great Bovine Pestilence England 1321 Famine England 1322–1325 Famine Sardinia 1326–1330 Famine in Italy (possibly beginning in 1328), Europe 1330–1331 Famine with humid, rainy and stormy weather Ireland 1330–1332 Famine Russia/Ukraine 1330–1333 Famine France 1333–1336 Famine (see ) Spain 1333–1337 Chinese famine of 1333–1337 China 1338–1339 Famine (possibly just 1339) Ireland 1339–1341 Famine in Italy (possibly ending in 1340), Europe 1344–1345 Famine in India, under the reign of Muhammad bin Tughluq India 1346 Famine Ireland 1346–1348 Following a likely tropical volcanic eruption (or series of eruptions) and cool weather (plus heavy autumn rain in Italy) lasting 1345–1347, there was a widespread European famine, particularly in the south, including Italy (1346–1347), Spain (1346–1348) and southern France (1347). Dearth or famine also affected Egypt and the Levant, and cereals peaked in price in the Hejaz. Grain imports from the Black Sea region may have introduced the Black Death to Italy in 1347. Europe and the Mamluk Sultanate 1349–1351 Famine affecting England (1351) and coinciding with the Black Death Great Britain 1349–1351 Famine France 1352–1353 Famine Italy 1360 Famine France 1361–1362 Famine Russia/Ukraine 1364–1366 Famine Russia/Ukraine 1368 Famine Italy 1369 Famine England 1369–1370 Famine Florence, Tuscany, Italy 1370 Famine caused by harvest failure in 1369 Norway 1371 Famine Russia/Ukraine 1371 Famine France 1374 Famine Russia/Ukraine 1374–1375 Near pan-Mediterranean famine in France, Spain and Italy Europe 1374–1375 Famine Egypt 1384–1385 Famine Italy 1389 Famine Pistoia, Tuscany, Italy 1390–1391 Famine France 1393 Famine Pistoia, Tuscany, Italy 1394–1396 Famine Egypt 1397 Famine, with a windy, wet and cold summer and autumn Ireland 1396–1407 The Durga Devi famine India 1402–1404FamineOttoman Empire 1403–1404 Famine Egypt 1409 Famine Russia/Ukraine 1410 Great famine Ireland 1410–1412 Famine Italy 1420–1421 Oei famine (due to drought) Japan 1420–1421 Famine France 1420–1423 Famine Russia/Ukraine 1426 Great Famine in Majapahit Empire Majapahit Empire 1429–1432 Famine France 1431 Famine Russia/Ukraine 1432–1434 The Hungry Years Czech Republic 1434–1437 Famine Nordic countries 1435 Famine Spain 1436–1440 Famine in Russia/Ukraine (1436–1438), the Low Countries and Great Britain (1437–1438), France (1437–1439) and Germany and Switzerland (1437–1440) Europe 1441 Famine in Mayapan Mexico 1442–1445 Famine Russia/Ukraine 1446 Famine Nordic countries 1447 Famine (or hunger) Ireland 1447–1448 Famine Sweden 1450–1454 Famine in the Aztec Empire, interpreted as the gods' need for sacrifices. Mexico 1458 Famine Italy 1459–1461 Kanshō famine (due to drought) Japan 1460The Deccan region faced significant famine, leading to severe food shortages.India 1468 Famine Russia/Ukraine 1470 Famine France 1470 Famine Nordic countries 1472 Famine Russia/Ukraine 1472 Famine in central Honshu due to drought Japan 1472–1474 Famine Italy 1475–1477 Famine Spain 1476 Famine Italy 1477 Famine in central Honshu Japan 1481–1484 Famine(s) in the Low Countries (1481–1482), France (1481–1483), the East of England (1481–1483) and Italy (1482–1484) Western Europe 1485 Famine Russia/Ukraine 1491–1492 Famine Low Countries 1491–1492 Famine Kai Province, Japan 1492 Famine Ireland 1493 Famine Italy 1497–1498 Great famine (possibly just 1497)