Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted in South Korea
South Korea: Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted was 23,500 in 2024. ▼ Falling
Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted in South Korea, 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 South Korea is 23,500, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of down 4.5% on the previous year and down 44.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in South Korea peaked at 81,300 in 2000 and was at its lowest, 23,500, in 2024.
South Korea ranks 109th of 162 countries on this measure, 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 South Korea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 81,300 | — |
| 2001 | 78,500 | -3.4% |
| 2002 | 75,200 | -4.2% |
| 2003 | 70,200 | -6.6% |
| 2004 | 64,700 | -7.8% |
| 2005 | 59,000 | -8.8% |
| 2006 | 53,600 | -9.2% |
| 2007 | 49,600 | -7.5% |
| 2008 | 47,200 | -4.8% |
| 2009 | 45,900 | -2.8% |
| 2010 | 45,200 | -1.5% |
| 2011 | 44,600 | -1.3% |
| 2012 | 43,700 | -2.0% |
| 2013 | 42,800 | -2.1% |
| 2014 | 42,000 | -1.9% |
| 2015 | 41,100 | -2.1% |
| 2016 | 39,600 | -3.6% |
| 2017 | 37,400 | -5.6% |
| 2018 | 35,100 | -6.1% |
| 2019 | 32,900 | -6.3% |
| 2020 | 30,500 | -7.3% |
| 2021 | 28,000 | -8.2% |
| 2022 | 26,100 | -6.8% |
| 2023 | 24,600 | -5.7% |
| 2024 | 23,500 | -4.5% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 23,500 is above the median for high income countries, which is 11,800, 2.0× the median. (37 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 23,500 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 47,600, 49% of the median. (27 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 62,520 | 45,900 | 81,300 | 10 |
| 2010s | 40,440 | 32,900 | 45,200 | 10 |
| 2020s | 26,540 | 23,500 | 30,500 | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More reference data data for South Korea
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.9638 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.9281 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 3.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.2074 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 3.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 3.23 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 4.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 5.17 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 19.85 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.13 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in South Korea?
- Malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in South Korea was 23,500 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 South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 81,300 in 2000.
- What is the lowest malnutrition: number of children who are stunted recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 23,500 in 2024.
- How does South Korea rank for malnutrition: number of children who are stunted?
- South Korea ranks 109th out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- Is malnutrition: number of children who are stunted rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 44.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Korea 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.