Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in South Korea
South Korea: Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight was 0.4% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in South Korea, 2003–2020
Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME) - UNICEF, WHO, and World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of children under 5.
Analysis
The most recent figure for malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in South Korea is 0.4%, measured in 2020. That is the lowest value across all 5 years on record.
The figure is down 55.6% on the previous year and down 50.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in South Korea peaked at 1.0% in 2014 and was at its lowest, 0.4%, in 2020.
That places South Korea 95th out of 96 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.
Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 0.9% | — |
| 2011 | 0.8% | -11.1% |
| 2014 | 1.0% | +25.0% |
| 2017 | 0.9% | -10.0% |
| 2020 | 0.4% | -55.6% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 0.4% is below the median for high income countries, which is 2.8%, 14% of the median. (11 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 0.4% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 15.3%, 3% of the median. (13 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 1 |
| 2010s | 0.9% | 0.8% | 1.0% | 3 |
| 2020s | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 1 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
- 92 Turkey 1.5% compare
- 93 United Kingdom 0.6% compare
- 94 Chile 0.5% compare
- 95 United States 0.4% compare
More reference data data for South Korea
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.9638 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.9281 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 3.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.2074 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 3.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 3.23 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 4.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 5.17 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 19.85 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.13 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in South Korea?
- Malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in South Korea was 0.4% in 2020, according to Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME) - UNICEF, WHO, and World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest malnutrition: share of children who are underweight recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 1.0% in 2014.
- What is the lowest malnutrition: share of children who are underweight recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.4% in 2020.
- How does South Korea rank for malnutrition: share of children who are underweight?
- South Korea ranks 95th out of 96 countries with data for 2020.
- Is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 50.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME) - UNICEF, WHO, and World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 5 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The share of children younger than five years old whose weight for age is more than two standard deviations below the median for the international reference population for ages 0-59 months.