Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted in Japan
Japan: Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted was 207,500 in 2024. ▼ Falling
Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted in Japan, 2000–2024
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 Japan stood at 207,500. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.4% on the previous year and down 37.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in Japan peaked at 380,700 in 2005 and was at its lowest, 207,500, in 2024.
That places Japan 70th 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.
Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted in Japan, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 336,300 | — |
| 2001 | 351,200 | +4.4% |
| 2002 | 365,700 | +4.1% |
| 2003 | 373,500 | +2.1% |
| 2004 | 378,300 | +1.3% |
| 2005 | 380,700 | +0.6% |
| 2006 | 380,600 | -0.0% |
| 2007 | 379,900 | -0.2% |
| 2008 | 378,000 | -0.5% |
| 2009 | 374,300 | -1.0% |
| 2010 | 369,200 | -1.4% |
| 2011 | 361,900 | -2.0% |
| 2012 | 352,200 | -2.7% |
| 2013 | 341,700 | -3.0% |
| 2014 | 330,000 | -3.4% |
| 2015 | 316,900 | -4.0% |
| 2016 | 303,200 | -4.3% |
| 2017 | 288,200 | -4.9% |
| 2018 | 272,100 | -5.6% |
| 2019 | 256,300 | -5.8% |
| 2020 | 241,700 | -5.7% |
| 2021 | 228,800 | -5.3% |
| 2022 | 219,800 | -3.9% |
| 2023 | 212,600 | -3.3% |
| 2024 | 207,500 | -2.4% |
Japan compared with similar countries
- Japan's 207,500 is above the median for high income countries, which is 11,800, 17.6× the median. (37 countries reporting)
- Japan's 207,500 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 47,600, 4.4× the median. (27 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 369,850 | 336,300 | 380,700 | 10 |
| 2010s | 319,170 | 256,300 | 369,200 | 10 |
| 2020s | 222,080 | 207,500 | 241,700 | 5 |
Countries ranked near Japan
More reference data data for Japan
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.19 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.981 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 4.49 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.3629 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 4.49 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 3.98 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 4.16 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 5.57 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 23.74 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.98 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in Japan?
- Malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in Japan was 207,500 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 Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 380,700 in 2005.
- What is the lowest malnutrition: number of children who are stunted recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was 207,500 in 2024.
- How does Japan rank for malnutrition: number of children who are stunted?
- Japan ranks 70th out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- Is malnutrition: number of children who are stunted rising or falling in Japan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 37.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Japan 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.