Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted in Bangladesh
Bangladesh: Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted was 4.19 million in 2024. ▼ Falling
Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted in Bangladesh, 2000–2024
Source: World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in Bangladesh is 4.19 million, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
The figure is down 0.5% on the previous year and down 24.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in Bangladesh peaked at 9.74 million in 2000 and was at its lowest, 4.19 million, in 2024.
That places Bangladesh 7th out of 162 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted in Bangladesh, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 9.74 million | — |
| 2001 | 9.67 million | -0.6% |
| 2002 | 9.58 million | -1.0% |
| 2003 | 9.40 million | -1.8% |
| 2004 | 9.17 million | -2.5% |
| 2005 | 8.90 million | -3.0% |
| 2006 | 8.57 million | -3.7% |
| 2007 | 8.19 million | -4.4% |
| 2008 | 7.79 million | -4.9% |
| 2009 | 7.37 million | -5.3% |
| 2010 | 6.96 million | -5.7% |
| 2011 | 6.55 million | -5.9% |
| 2012 | 6.16 million | -5.9% |
| 2013 | 5.83 million | -5.4% |
| 2014 | 5.54 million | -5.0% |
| 2015 | 5.28 million | -4.7% |
| 2016 | 5.05 million | -4.3% |
| 2017 | 4.85 million | -4.0% |
| 2018 | 4.66 million | -4.0% |
| 2019 | 4.48 million | -3.8% |
| 2020 | 4.34 million | -3.0% |
| 2021 | 4.25 million | -2.1% |
| 2022 | 4.22 million | -0.8% |
| 2023 | 4.21 million | -0.1% |
| 2024 | 4.19 million | -0.5% |
Bangladesh compared with similar countries
- Bangladesh's 4.19 million is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 281,700, 14.9× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Bangladesh's 4.19 million is above the median for South Asia, which is 441,450, 9.5× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 8.84 million | 7.37 million | 9.74 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.53 million | 4.48 million | 6.96 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.24 million | 4.19 million | 4.34 million | 5 |
Countries ranked near Bangladesh
More reference data data for Bangladesh
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 2.46 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 9.09 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 24.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.62 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 24.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 8.25 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 2.5 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 37.85 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 105.98 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 14.25 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in Bangladesh?
- Malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in Bangladesh was 4.19 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 Bangladesh?
- The highest recorded value was 9.74 million in 2000.
- What is the lowest malnutrition: number of children who are stunted recorded in Bangladesh?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.19 million in 2024.
- How does Bangladesh rank for malnutrition: number of children who are stunted?
- Bangladesh ranks 7th out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- Is malnutrition: number of children who are stunted rising or falling in Bangladesh?
- Over the last ten years it is down 24.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Bangladesh 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.