Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted in Nepal
Nepal: Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted was 719,300 in 2024. ▼ Falling
Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted in Nepal, 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 Nepal is 719,300, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of down 2.1% on the previous year and down 34.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in Nepal peaked at 2.02 million in 2000 and was at its lowest, 719,300, in 2024.
Nepal ranks 37th of 162 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted in Nepal, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 2.02 million | — |
| 2001 | 1.95 million | -3.1% |
| 2002 | 1.89 million | -3.1% |
| 2003 | 1.83 million | -3.3% |
| 2004 | 1.76 million | -3.7% |
| 2005 | 1.69 million | -4.0% |
| 2006 | 1.62 million | -4.4% |
| 2007 | 1.54 million | -4.8% |
| 2008 | 1.46 million | -5.1% |
| 2009 | 1.38 million | -5.3% |
| 2010 | 1.31 million | -5.2% |
| 2011 | 1.25 million | -5.0% |
| 2012 | 1.19 million | -4.7% |
| 2013 | 1.14 million | -4.3% |
| 2014 | 1.09 million | -4.0% |
| 2015 | 1.05 million | -3.9% |
| 2016 | 1.01 million | -4.1% |
| 2017 | 958,400 | -4.8% |
| 2018 | 907,600 | -5.3% |
| 2019 | 855,300 | -5.8% |
| 2020 | 807,800 | -5.6% |
| 2021 | 774,500 | -4.1% |
| 2022 | 755,100 | -2.5% |
| 2023 | 735,000 | -2.7% |
| 2024 | 719,300 | -2.1% |
Nepal compared with similar countries
- Nepal's 719,300 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 281,700, 2.6× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Nepal's 719,300 is above the median for South Asia, which is 441,450, 1.6× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1.72 million | 1.38 million | 2.02 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.08 million | 855,300 | 1.31 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 758,340 | 719,300 | 807,800 | 5 |
Countries ranked near Nepal
More reference data data for Nepal
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.7753 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 2.5 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 4.14 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.7853 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 4.14 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 2.6 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.7974 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 11.28 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 19.44 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 4.28 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in Nepal?
- Malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in Nepal was 719,300 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 Nepal?
- The highest recorded value was 2.02 million in 2000.
- What is the lowest malnutrition: number of children who are stunted recorded in Nepal?
- The lowest recorded value was 719,300 in 2024.
- How does Nepal rank for malnutrition: number of children who are stunted?
- Nepal ranks 37th out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- Is malnutrition: number of children who are stunted rising or falling in Nepal?
- Over the last ten years it is down 34.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Nepal 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.