Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted in Laos
Laos: Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted was 236,300 in 2024. ▼ Falling
Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted in Laos, 2000–2024
Source: World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Laos recorded 236,300 for malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.7% on the previous year and down 20.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in Laos peaked at 407,200 in 2000 and was at its lowest, 236,300, in 2024.
That places Laos 67th 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 Laos, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 407,200 | — |
| 2001 | 402,000 | -1.3% |
| 2002 | 396,500 | -1.4% |
| 2003 | 390,800 | -1.4% |
| 2004 | 385,000 | -1.5% |
| 2005 | 379,000 | -1.6% |
| 2006 | 371,000 | -2.1% |
| 2007 | 361,100 | -2.7% |
| 2008 | 351,300 | -2.7% |
| 2009 | 341,500 | -2.8% |
| 2010 | 332,300 | -2.7% |
| 2011 | 323,000 | -2.8% |
| 2012 | 313,800 | -2.8% |
| 2013 | 305,200 | -2.7% |
| 2014 | 296,800 | -2.8% |
| 2015 | 289,900 | -2.3% |
| 2016 | 283,800 | -2.1% |
| 2017 | 276,700 | -2.5% |
| 2018 | 268,900 | -2.8% |
| 2019 | 261,000 | -2.9% |
| 2020 | 253,600 | -2.8% |
| 2021 | 247,600 | -2.4% |
| 2022 | 243,700 | -1.6% |
| 2023 | 240,300 | -1.4% |
| 2024 | 236,300 | -1.7% |
Laos compared with similar countries
- Laos's 236,300 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 281,700, 84% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Laos's 236,300 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 47,600, 5.0× the median. (27 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 378,540 | 341,500 | 407,200 | 10 |
| 2010s | 295,140 | 261,000 | 332,300 | 10 |
| 2020s | 244,300 | 236,300 | 253,600 | 5 |
Countries ranked near Laos
More reference data data for Laos
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.6615 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.913 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.88 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.3021 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 1.88 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 2.22 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 3.96 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 5.07 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 12.95 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.64 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in Laos?
- Malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in Laos was 236,300 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 Laos?
- The highest recorded value was 407,200 in 2000.
- What is the lowest malnutrition: number of children who are stunted recorded in Laos?
- The lowest recorded value was 236,300 in 2024.
- How does Laos rank for malnutrition: number of children who are stunted?
- Laos ranks 67th out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- Is malnutrition: number of children who are stunted rising or falling in Laos?
- Over the last ten years it is down 20.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Laos 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.