Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted in Belgium

Belgium: Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted was 14,800 in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
14,800
Change on year
down 2.0%
World rank
115th
of 162 countries
All-time high
23,000
in 2000
All-time low
14,800
in 2024
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted in Belgium, 2000–2024

05.0k10.0k15.0k20.0k25.0k2000201220242000: 23.0k2001: 23.0k2002: 22.8k2003: 22.3k2004: 21.7k2005: 21.3k2006: 20.9k2007: 20.5k2008: 20.1k2009: 19.6k2010: 19.1k2011: 18.7k2012: 18.2k2013: 17.8k2014: 17.4k2015: 17.1k2016: 16.7k2017: 16.2k2018: 15.8k2019: 15.4k2020: 15.2k2021: 15.1k2022: 15.2k2023: 15.1k2024: 14.8k

Source: World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.

Analysis

In 2024, malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in Belgium stood at 14,800. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.

That represents a change of down 2.0% on the previous year and down 14.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in Belgium peaked at 23,000 in 2000 and was at its lowest, 14,800, in 2024.

That places Belgium 115th out of 162 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 21,520 19,600 23,000 10
2010s 17,240 15,400 19,100 10
2020s 15,080 14,800 15,200 5

Countries ranked near Belgium

  1. 112 Poland 17,200 compare
  2. 113 Bulgaria 17,000 compare
  3. 114 Chile 16,000 compare
  4. 116 Netherlands 14,600 compare
  5. 117 Serbia 14,100 compare
  6. 118 Vanuatu 13,700 compare

See the full ranking of 162 places →

More reference data data for Belgium

All data for Belgium →

Frequently asked questions

What is malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in Belgium?
Malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in Belgium was 14,800 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 Belgium?
The highest recorded value was 23,000 in 2000.
What is the lowest malnutrition: number of children who are stunted recorded in Belgium?
The lowest recorded value was 14,800 in 2024.
How does Belgium rank for malnutrition: number of children who are stunted?
Belgium ranks 115th out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
Is malnutrition: number of children who are stunted rising or falling in Belgium?
Over the last ten years it is down 14.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Belgium 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

Indicator
Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted
Source
World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
162 places, 4,050 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

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.