Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted was 163,600 in 2024. ▼ Falling
Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted in Sri Lanka, 2000–2024
Source: World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Sri Lanka recorded 163,600 for malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of down 2.2% on the previous year and down 37.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in Sri Lanka peaked at 346,000 in 2004 and was at its lowest, 163,600, in 2024.
That places Sri Lanka 74th 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 Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 340,700 | — |
| 2001 | 341,700 | +0.3% |
| 2002 | 344,300 | +0.8% |
| 2003 | 345,700 | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 346,000 | +0.1% |
| 2005 | 345,900 | -0.0% |
| 2006 | 343,200 | -0.8% |
| 2007 | 338,500 | -1.4% |
| 2008 | 331,800 | -2.0% |
| 2009 | 323,700 | -2.4% |
| 2010 | 313,800 | -3.1% |
| 2011 | 302,200 | -3.7% |
| 2012 | 288,300 | -4.6% |
| 2013 | 275,400 | -4.5% |
| 2014 | 262,100 | -4.8% |
| 2015 | 248,400 | -5.2% |
| 2016 | 234,800 | -5.5% |
| 2017 | 221,700 | -5.6% |
| 2018 | 208,500 | -6.0% |
| 2019 | 196,400 | -5.8% |
| 2020 | 186,500 | -5.0% |
| 2021 | 178,700 | -4.2% |
| 2022 | 173,000 | -3.2% |
| 2023 | 167,200 | -3.4% |
| 2024 | 163,600 | -2.2% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 163,600 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 46,050, 3.6× the median. (54 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 163,600 is below the median for South Asia, which is 441,450, 37% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 340,150 | 323,700 | 346,000 | 10 |
| 2010s | 255,160 | 196,400 | 313,800 | 10 |
| 2020s | 173,800 | 163,600 | 186,500 | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More reference data data for Sri Lanka
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.1608 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.316 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.33 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1784 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 2.33 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.539 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.1604 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 10.15 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.9713 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in Sri Lanka?
- Malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in Sri Lanka was 163,600 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 Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 346,000 in 2004.
- What is the lowest malnutrition: number of children who are stunted recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 163,600 in 2024.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for malnutrition: number of children who are stunted?
- Sri Lanka ranks 74th out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- Is malnutrition: number of children who are stunted rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 37.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sri Lanka 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.