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

Latest (2024)
23,500
Change on year
down 4.5%
World rank
109th
of 162 countries
All-time high
81,300
in 2000
All-time low
23,500
in 2024
Years of data
25
2000–2024

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

20.0k40.0k60.0k80.0k2000201220242000: 81.3k2001: 78.5k2002: 75.2k2003: 70.2k2004: 64.7k2005: 59.0k2006: 53.6k2007: 49.6k2008: 47.2k2009: 45.9k2010: 45.2k2011: 44.6k2012: 43.7k2013: 42.8k2014: 42.0k2015: 41.1k2016: 39.6k2017: 37.4k2018: 35.1k2019: 32.9k2020: 30.5k2021: 28.0k2022: 26.1k2023: 24.6k2024: 23.5k

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.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest 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

  1. 106 Eswatini 26,700 compare
  2. 107 Mongolia 24,100 compare
  3. 108 Djibouti 24,000 compare
  4. 110 Paraguay 21,600 compare
  5. 111 Comoros 20,000 compare
  6. 112 Poland 17,200 compare

See the full ranking of 162 places →

More reference data data for South Korea

All data for South Korea →

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

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.