Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted in United States
United States: Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted was 780,800 in 2024. ▲ Rising
Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted in United States, 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 United States is 780,800, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
The figure is up 4.6% on the previous year and up 45.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in United States peaked at 780,800 in 2024 and was at its lowest, 509,200, in 2010.
That places United States 35th out of 162 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Malnutrition: Number of children who are stunted in United States, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 582,800 | — |
| 2001 | 567,900 | -2.6% |
| 2002 | 555,800 | -2.1% |
| 2003 | 543,600 | -2.2% |
| 2004 | 533,000 | -1.9% |
| 2005 | 526,000 | -1.3% |
| 2006 | 522,400 | -0.7% |
| 2007 | 519,500 | -0.6% |
| 2008 | 515,900 | -0.7% |
| 2009 | 512,000 | -0.8% |
| 2010 | 509,200 | -0.5% |
| 2011 | 509,300 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 513,200 | +0.8% |
| 2013 | 522,100 | +1.7% |
| 2014 | 537,100 | +2.9% |
| 2015 | 556,800 | +3.7% |
| 2016 | 578,900 | +4.0% |
| 2017 | 599,900 | +3.6% |
| 2018 | 619,800 | +3.3% |
| 2019 | 638,600 | +3.0% |
| 2020 | 657,600 | +3.0% |
| 2021 | 681,000 | +3.6% |
| 2022 | 716,000 | +5.1% |
| 2023 | 746,600 | +4.3% |
| 2024 | 780,800 | +4.6% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 780,800 is above the median for high income countries, which is 11,800, 66.2× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 537,890 | 512,000 | 582,800 | 10 |
| 2010s | 558,490 | 509,200 | 638,600 | 10 |
| 2020s | 716,400 | 657,600 | 780,800 | 5 |
Countries ranked near United States
More reference data data for United States
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 19.34 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 24.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 119.42 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 20.7 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 119.42 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 64.85 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 52.14 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 133.45 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 589.96 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 112.69 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in United States?
- Malnutrition: number of children who are stunted in United States was 780,800 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 United States?
- The highest recorded value was 780,800 in 2024.
- What is the lowest malnutrition: number of children who are stunted recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 509,200 in 2010.
- How does United States rank for malnutrition: number of children who are stunted?
- United States ranks 35th out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- Is malnutrition: number of children who are stunted rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is up 45.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States 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.