Share of the population undernourished vs. share of children who are stunted in South Africa
South Africa: Share of the population undernourished vs. share of children who are stunted was 24.4 percent in 2024. ▼ Falling
Share of the population undernourished vs. share of children who are stunted in South Africa, 2000–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in percent.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 24.4 percent for share of the population undernourished vs. share of children who are stunted in 2024.
That represents a change of up 2.1% on the previous year and up 9.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population undernourished vs. share of children who are stunted in South Africa peaked at 26.6 percent in 2000 and was at its lowest, 22.1 percent, in 2018.
South Africa ranks 40th of 160 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Share of the population undernourished vs. share of children who are stunted in South Africa, year by year
| Year | percent | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 26.6 percent | — |
| 2001 | 26.4 percent | -0.8% |
| 2002 | 26.3 percent | -0.4% |
| 2003 | 26.3 percent | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 26.3 percent | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 26.2 percent | -0.4% |
| 2006 | 25.8 percent | -1.5% |
| 2007 | 25.2 percent | -2.3% |
| 2008 | 24.5 percent | -2.8% |
| 2009 | 23.8 percent | -2.9% |
| 2010 | 23.1 percent | -2.9% |
| 2011 | 22.5 percent | -2.6% |
| 2012 | 22.3 percent | -0.9% |
| 2013 | 22.2 percent | -0.4% |
| 2014 | 22.2 percent | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 22.2 percent | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 22.2 percent | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 22.2 percent | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 22.1 percent | -0.5% |
| 2019 | 22.2 percent | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 22.5 percent | +1.4% |
| 2021 | 22.9 percent | +1.8% |
| 2022 | 23.5 percent | +2.6% |
| 2023 | 23.9 percent | +1.7% |
| 2024 | 24.4 percent | +2.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 25.74 percent | 23.8 percent | 26.6 percent | 10 |
| 2010s | 22.32 percent | 22.1 percent | 23.1 percent | 10 |
| 2020s | 23.44 percent | 22.5 percent | 24.4 percent | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More reference data data for South Africa
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.5111 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 8.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 13.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.7468 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 13.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.49 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 41.1 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 63.65 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 4.07 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population undernourished vs. share of children who are stunted in South Africa?
- Share of the population undernourished vs. share of children who are stunted in South Africa was 24.4 percent in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of the population undernourished vs. share of children who are stunted recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 26.6 percent in 2000.
- What is the lowest share of the population undernourished vs. share of children who are stunted recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 22.1 percent in 2018.
- How does South Africa rank for share of the population undernourished vs. share of children who are stunted?
- South Africa ranks 40th out of 160 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of the population undernourished vs. share of children who are stunted rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of the population undernourished vs. share 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
Childhood stunting is the share of children younger than five years that are stunted, which means they are two standard deviations below the median height-for-age of the WHO's Child Growth Standards. Undernourishment is when a person's daily food intake does not provide enough energy to maintain a normal, active, and healthy life.