Today, Wednesday 21 January, there are a hundred days to go until the start of Expo Milan 2015, the world exposition dedicated to food and nutrition in which more than 140 countries are taking part. A countdown that ExpoNet, the exposition's in-depth magazine, has marked by selecting a hundred numbers "to get an idea of this world". From the problem of overpopulation and world hunger to the role of women in agriculture. Child labour, public water, energy from food, organic farming and GMOs. Numbers like petals of the same flower, capable of showing us the vital challenges that await us — challenges we will be able to explore in greater depth from the first of May.

846 million

The number of people suffering from chronic hunger (UN).

1.4 billion

The number of obese or overweight people in the world (National Geographic).

98 million

The number of underage workers employed in agriculture worldwide (ILO). If all the children who harvest food in the fields were to hold hands, they would circle the equator three times.

5.44 million

The number of women directly employed in the agricultural sector in Europe. In Greece and Portugal, agriculture is still the main employer of women (ESEA).

2.6

The number of planets we would need if everyone consumed as many natural resources as Italians do (WWF).

50 football pitches

The equivalent of forested areas that disappear every minute around the world.

12 million

The hectares of land subject to aridification and desertification every year (UNCCD).

4.5 million

The number of plant seeds the Svalbard Global Seed Vault — the underground repository of seeds from all over the world — can hold. It is located in the Svalbard Islands.

22 billion euros

The economic contribution of bees to the agricultural sector every year (IUCN).

150

The number of flowers needed to obtain one gram of saffron.

Browse all one hundred numbers on ExpoNet