Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted was 295,600 in 2024. ▼ Falling
Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted in Sierra Leone, 2000–2024
Source: World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Sierra Leone recorded 295,600 for malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in 2024.
That represents a change of up 1.1% on the previous year and down 13.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in Sierra Leone peaked at 361,700 in 2006 and was at its lowest, 292,400, in 2023.
Sierra Leone ranks 58th 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.
Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted in Sierra Leone, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 300,700 | — |
| 2001 | 320,000 | +6.4% |
| 2002 | 338,200 | +5.7% |
| 2003 | 349,400 | +3.3% |
| 2004 | 356,700 | +2.1% |
| 2005 | 360,500 | +1.1% |
| 2006 | 361,700 | +0.3% |
| 2007 | 361,100 | -0.2% |
| 2008 | 360,300 | -0.2% |
| 2009 | 359,900 | -0.1% |
| 2010 | 358,900 | -0.3% |
| 2011 | 356,100 | -0.8% |
| 2012 | 351,900 | -1.2% |
| 2013 | 345,900 | -1.7% |
| 2014 | 339,800 | -1.8% |
| 2015 | 335,200 | -1.4% |
| 2016 | 329,400 | -1.7% |
| 2017 | 322,200 | -2.2% |
| 2018 | 314,200 | -2.5% |
| 2019 | 305,700 | -2.7% |
| 2020 | 298,600 | -2.3% |
| 2021 | 293,800 | -1.6% |
| 2022 | 292,500 | -0.4% |
| 2023 | 292,400 | -0.0% |
| 2024 | 295,600 | +1.1% |
Sierra Leone compared with similar countries
- Sierra Leone's 295,600 is below the median for low income countries, which is 986,900, 30% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Sierra Leone's 295,600 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 577,800, 51% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 346,850 | 300,700 | 361,700 | 10 |
| 2010s | 335,930 | 305,700 | 358,900 | 10 |
| 2020s | 294,580 | 292,400 | 298,600 | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sierra Leone
More reference data data for Sierra Leone
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0238 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.4498 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.5935 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.12 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.5935 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0797 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.044 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.91 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.72 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.6534 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in Sierra Leone?
- Malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in Sierra Leone was 295,600 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 Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 361,700 in 2006.
- What is the lowest malnutrition: number of children who are stunted recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 292,400 in 2023.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for malnutrition: number of children who are stunted?
- Sierra Leone ranks 58th out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- Is malnutrition: number of children who are stunted rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is down 13.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sierra Leone 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.