UNITED NATIONS (AP) — An estimated 2.3 million Venezuelans had fled the crisis-wracked country as of June, mainly to Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil, the United Nations said Tuesday.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters that those fleeing — about 7 percent of Venezuela's 32.8 million people — cite lack of food as the main reason for leaving. U.N. humanitarian officials report that 1.3 million of those who fled were "suffering from malnourishment," he said.

Oil-rich Venezuela has been sinking deeper into an economic and political crisis. Hyperinflation and widespread shortages of...