Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted in Ireland

Ireland: Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted was 6,200 in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
6,200
Change on year
down 1.6%
Rank
134th
of 162 regions
All-time high
9,900
in 2002
All-time low
6,200
in 2024
Years of data
25
2000–2024

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

02.0k4.0k6.0k8.0k10.0k2000201220242000: 9.8k2001: 9.8k2002: 9.9k2003: 9.9k2004: 9.9k2005: 9.9k2006: 9.8k2007: 9.8k2008: 9.7k2009: 9.6k2010: 9.4k2011: 9.2k2012: 8.9k2013: 8.6k2014: 8.3k2015: 7.9k2016: 7.5k2017: 7.2k2018: 6.9k2019: 6.6k2020: 6.4k2021: 6.3k2022: 6.3k2023: 6.3k2024: 6.2k

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 Ireland is 6,200, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.

That represents a change of down 1.6% on the previous year and down 25.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in Ireland peaked at 9,900 in 2002 and was at its lowest, 6,200, in 2024.

That places Ireland 134th out of 162 regions with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 9,810 9,600 9,900 10
2010s 8,050 6,600 9,400 10
2020s 6,300 6,200 6,400 5

Countries ranked near Ireland

  1. 131 Moldova 7,100 compare
  2. 132 Singapore 6,500 compare
  3. 133 Trinidad and Tobago 6,400 compare
  4. 135 Fiji 5,900 compare
  5. 136 Guyana 5,800 compare
  6. 137 Mauritius 4,700 compare

See the full ranking of 162 places →

More reference data data for Ireland

All data for Ireland →

Frequently asked questions

What is malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in Ireland?
Malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in Ireland was 6,200 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 Ireland?
The highest recorded value was 9,900 in 2002.
What is the lowest malnutrition: number of children who are stunted recorded in Ireland?
The lowest recorded value was 6,200 in 2024.
How does Ireland rank for malnutrition: number of children who are stunted?
Ireland ranks 134th out of 162 regions with data for 2024.
Is malnutrition: number of children who are stunted rising or falling in Ireland?
Over the last ten years it is down 25.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Ireland 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.