Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted in Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea: Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted was 586,900 in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
586,900
Change on year
up 1.3%
World rank
41st
of 162 countries
All-time high
586,900
in 2024
All-time low
308,500
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted in Papua New Guinea, 2000–2024

0200.0k400.0k600.0k2000201220242000: 308.5k2001: 327.0k2002: 346.8k2003: 367.7k2004: 389.4k2005: 411.7k2006: 433.5k2007: 452.9k2008: 470.5k2009: 486.0k2010: 498.9k2011: 510.9k2012: 522.4k2013: 533.1k2014: 541.6k2015: 548.3k2016: 552.6k2017: 554.9k2018: 556.8k2019: 558.0k2020: 560.4k2021: 565.5k2022: 573.4k2023: 579.2k2024: 586.9k

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

Analysis

In 2024, malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in Papua New Guinea stood at 586,900. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.

The figure is up 1.3% on the previous year and up 8.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in Papua New Guinea peaked at 586,900 in 2024 and was at its lowest, 308,500, in 2000.

Papua New Guinea ranks 41st of 162 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 399,400 308,500 486,000 10
2010s 537,750 498,900 558,000 10
2020s 573,080 560,400 586,900 5

Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea

  1. 38 Ghana 661,900 compare
  2. 39 Burkina Faso 656,600 compare
  3. 40 Guinea 591,300 compare
  4. 42 Syria 577,000 compare
  5. 43 Rwanda 564,300 compare
  6. 44 Zimbabwe 553,200 compare

See the full ranking of 162 places →

More reference data data for Papua New Guinea

All data for Papua New Guinea →

Frequently asked questions

What is malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in Papua New Guinea?
Malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in Papua New Guinea was 586,900 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 Papua New Guinea?
The highest recorded value was 586,900 in 2024.
What is the lowest malnutrition: number of children who are stunted recorded in Papua New Guinea?
The lowest recorded value was 308,500 in 2000.
How does Papua New Guinea rank for malnutrition: number of children who are stunted?
Papua New Guinea ranks 41st out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
Is malnutrition: number of children who are stunted rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
Over the last ten years it is up 8.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Papua New Guinea 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.