Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted in Nigeria

Nigeria: Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted was 11.44 million in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
11.44 million
Change on year
up 1.4%
World rank
2nd
of 162 countries
All-time high
11.75 million
in 2015
All-time low
9.29 million
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024

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

02.5M5.0M7.5M10.0M12.5M2000201220242000: 9.3M2001: 9.5M2002: 9.8M2003: 10.1M2004: 10.3M2005: 10.6M2006: 10.8M2007: 11.0M2008: 11.1M2009: 11.2M2010: 11.3M2011: 11.4M2012: 11.5M2013: 11.6M2014: 11.7M2015: 11.7M2016: 11.7M2017: 11.6M2018: 11.5M2019: 11.3M2020: 11.2M2021: 11.1M2022: 11.2M2023: 11.3M2024: 11.4M

Source: World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.

Analysis

Nigeria recorded 11.44 million for malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in 2024.

That represents a change of up 1.4% on the previous year and down 2.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in Nigeria peaked at 11.75 million in 2015 and was at its lowest, 9.29 million, in 2000.

Nigeria ranks 2nd of 162 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 10.37 million 9.29 million 11.22 million 10
2010s 11.55 million 11.32 million 11.75 million 10
2020s 11.23 million 11.09 million 11.44 million 5

Countries ranked near Nigeria

  1. 1 India 37.40 million compare
  2. 3 Pakistan 10.74 million compare
  3. 4 Democratic Republic of Congo 8.72 million compare
  4. 5 Ethiopia 6.89 million compare

See the full ranking of 162 places →

More reference data data for Nigeria

All data for Nigeria →

Frequently asked questions

What is malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in Nigeria?
Malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in Nigeria was 11.44 million 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 Nigeria?
The highest recorded value was 11.75 million in 2015.
What is the lowest malnutrition: number of children who are stunted recorded in Nigeria?
The lowest recorded value was 9.29 million in 2000.
How does Nigeria rank for malnutrition: number of children who are stunted?
Nigeria ranks 2nd out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
Is malnutrition: number of children who are stunted rising or falling in Nigeria?
Over the last ten years it is down 2.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Nigeria 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

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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.