Share of the population undernourished vs. share of children who are stunted in United States of America
United States of America: Share of the population undernourished vs. share of children who are stunted was 4.2 percent in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of the population undernourished vs. share of children who are stunted in United States of America, 2000–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in percent.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of the population undernourished vs. share of children who are stunted in United States of America is 4.2 percent, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
The figure is up 5.0% on the previous year and up 55.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population undernourished vs. share of children who are stunted in United States of America peaked at 4.2 percent in 2024 and was at its lowest, 2.5 percent, in 2008.
United States of America ranks 136th of 160 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Share of the population undernourished vs. share of children who are stunted in United States of America, year by year
| Year | percent | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 3.1 percent | — |
| 2001 | 3 percent | -3.2% |
| 2002 | 2.9 percent | -3.3% |
| 2003 | 2.8 percent | -3.4% |
| 2004 | 2.7 percent | -3.6% |
| 2005 | 2.6 percent | -3.7% |
| 2006 | 2.6 percent | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 2.6 percent | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 2.5 percent | -3.8% |
| 2009 | 2.5 percent | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 2.5 percent | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 2.5 percent | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 2.5 percent | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 2.6 percent | +4.0% |
| 2014 | 2.7 percent | +3.8% |
| 2015 | 2.8 percent | +3.7% |
| 2016 | 2.9 percent | +3.6% |
| 2017 | 3 percent | +3.4% |
| 2018 | 3.1 percent | +3.3% |
| 2019 | 3.2 percent | +3.2% |
| 2020 | 3.4 percent | +6.2% |
| 2021 | 3.6 percent | +5.9% |
| 2022 | 3.8 percent | +5.6% |
| 2023 | 4 percent | +5.3% |
| 2024 | 4.2 percent | +5.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 2.73 percent | 2.5 percent | 3.1 percent | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.78 percent | 2.5 percent | 3.2 percent | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.8 percent | 3.4 percent | 4.2 percent | 5 |
Countries ranked near United States of America
- 134 Kuwait 4.5 percent compare
- 135 Kazakhstan 4.4 percent compare
- 136 Republic of Moldova 4.2 percent compare
- 138 North Macedonia 3.8 percent compare
- 139 Malta 3.5 percent compare
- 139 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 3.5 percent compare
More reference data data for United States of America
- 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 share of the population undernourished vs. share of children who are stunted in United States of America?
- Share of the population undernourished vs. share of children who are stunted in United States of America was 4.2 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 United States of America?
- The highest recorded value was 4.2 percent in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of the population undernourished vs. share of children who are stunted recorded in United States of America?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.5 percent in 2008.
- How does United States of America rank for share of the population undernourished vs. share of children who are stunted?
- United States of America ranks 136th 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 United States of America?
- Over the last ten years it is up 55.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States of America 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.