Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted in Afghanistan
Afghanistan: Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted was 2.85 million in 2024. ▲ Rising
Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted in Afghanistan, 2000–2024
Source: World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Afghanistan recorded 2.85 million for malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.8% on the previous year and up 16.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in Afghanistan peaked at 2.85 million in 2024 and was at its lowest, 2.32 million, in 2001.
Afghanistan ranks 11th of 162 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 2.41 million | 2.32 million | 2.48 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.46 million | 2.34 million | 2.59 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.73 million | 2.64 million | 2.85 million | 5 |
Countries ranked near Afghanistan
More reference data data for Afghanistan
- Spring temperature anomalies 3.05 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.6919 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month -0.1923 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 0 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 1.44 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 2.68 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 168.54 2010 = 100 (2024)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 0 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in Afghanistan?
- Malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in Afghanistan was 2.85 million in 2024, according to World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest malnutrition: number of children who are stunted recorded in Afghanistan?
- The highest recorded value was 2.85 million in 2024.
- What is the lowest malnutrition: number of children who are stunted recorded in Afghanistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.32 million in 2001.
- How does Afghanistan rank for malnutrition: number of children who are stunted?
- Afghanistan ranks 11th out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- Is malnutrition: number of children who are stunted rising or falling in Afghanistan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 16.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Afghanistan data come from?
- The figures come from World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The number of children younger than five who are stunted – significantly shorter than the average for their age, as a consequence of poor nutrition or repeated infection.