Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted was 28,800 in 2024. ▲ Rising
Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted in Costa Rica, 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 Costa Rica is 28,800, measured in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 14.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in Costa Rica peaked at 29,000 in 2022 and was at its lowest, 22,800, in 2007.
Costa Rica ranks 105th of 162 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 28,200 | — |
| 2001 | 27,500 | -2.5% |
| 2002 | 26,700 | -2.9% |
| 2003 | 25,700 | -3.7% |
| 2004 | 24,700 | -3.9% |
| 2005 | 23,800 | -3.6% |
| 2006 | 23,100 | -2.9% |
| 2007 | 22,800 | -1.3% |
| 2008 | 22,900 | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 23,000 | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 23,200 | +0.9% |
| 2011 | 23,500 | +1.3% |
| 2012 | 24,100 | +2.6% |
| 2013 | 24,600 | +2.1% |
| 2014 | 25,200 | +2.4% |
| 2015 | 26,200 | +4.0% |
| 2016 | 27,100 | +3.4% |
| 2017 | 27,600 | +1.8% |
| 2018 | 28,100 | +1.8% |
| 2019 | 28,500 | +1.4% |
| 2020 | 28,500 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 28,700 | +0.7% |
| 2022 | 29,000 | +1.0% |
| 2023 | 28,800 | -0.7% |
| 2024 | 28,800 | +0.0% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 28,800 is above the median for high income countries, which is 11,800, 2.4× the median. (37 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 28,800 is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 46,400, 62% of the median. (27 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 24,840 | 22,800 | 28,200 | 10 |
| 2010s | 25,810 | 23,200 | 28,500 | 10 |
| 2020s | 28,760 | 28,500 | 29,000 | 5 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
More reference data data for Costa Rica
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.2987 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.406 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.27 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0167 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 1.27 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.3161 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 2.24 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 5.91 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0907 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in Costa Rica?
- Malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in Costa Rica was 28,800 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 Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 29,000 in 2022.
- What is the lowest malnutrition: number of children who are stunted recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 22,800 in 2007.
- How does Costa Rica rank for malnutrition: number of children who are stunted?
- Costa Rica ranks 105th out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- Is malnutrition: number of children who are stunted rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 14.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica 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.