Malnutrition: Share of children who are stunted in Viet Nam

Viet Nam: Malnutrition: Share of children who are stunted was 18.2% in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
18.2%
Change on year
down 3.7%
World rank
49th
of 97 countries
All-time high
61.5%
in 1993
All-time low
18.2%
in 2023
Years of data
27
1988–2023

Malnutrition: Share of children who are stunted in Viet Nam, 1988–2023

20304050601988200520231988: 61.3 %1993: 61.5 %1994: 52.5 %1998: 42.1 %1999: 43.8 %2000: 42.9 %2002: 37.5 %2003: 35.4 %2004: 33.7 %2005: 33.3 %2006: 31.7 %2007: 31.7 %2008: 30.8 %2009: 29.3 %2010: 22.7 %2011: 27.5 %2012: 26.7 %2013: 25.9 %2014: 24.9 %2015: 24.6 %2016: 24.3 %2017: 23.8 %2018: 23.2 %2019: 22.4 %2020: 19.5 %2022: 18.9 %2023: 18.2 %

Source: World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

Viet Nam recorded 18.2% for malnutrition: share of children who are stunted in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 27 years on record.

That represents a change of down 3.7% on the previous year and down 29.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, malnutrition: share of children who are stunted in Viet Nam peaked at 61.5% in 1993 and was at its lowest, 18.2%, in 2023.

That places Viet Nam 49th out of 97 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 27 years of available data.

Malnutrition: Share of children who are stunted in Viet Nam, year by year

Annual values for Malnutrition: Share of children who are stunted in Viet Nam, 1988 to 2023.
Year % Change
1988 61.3%
1993 61.5% +0.3%
1994 52.5% -14.6%
1998 42.1% -19.8%
1999 43.8% +4.0%
2000 42.9% -2.1%
2002 37.5% -12.6%
2003 35.4% -5.6%
2004 33.7% -4.8%
2005 33.3% -1.2%
2006 31.7% -4.8%
2007 31.7% +0.0%
2008 30.8% -2.8%
2009 29.3% -4.9%
2010 22.7% -22.5%
2011 27.5% +21.1%
2012 26.7% -2.9%
2013 25.9% -3.0%
2014 24.9% -3.9%
2015 24.6% -1.2%
2016 24.3% -1.2%
2017 23.8% -2.1%
2018 23.2% -2.5%
2019 22.4% -3.4%
2020 19.5% -12.9%
2022 18.9% -3.1%
2023 18.2% -3.7%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 61.3% 61.3% 61.3% 1
1990s 50.0% 42.1% 61.5% 4
2000s 34.0% 29.3% 42.9% 9
2010s 24.6% 22.4% 27.5% 10
2020s 18.9% 18.2% 19.5% 3

Countries ranked near Viet Nam

  1. 46 Eswatini 20.0% compare
  2. 47 North Korea 19.1% compare
  3. 48 Honduras 18.7% compare
  4. 49 Comoros 18.2% compare
  5. 51 Bhutan 17.9% compare
  6. 52 Kenya 17.6% compare

See the full ranking of 97 places →

More reference data data for Viet Nam

All data for Viet Nam →

Frequently asked questions

What is malnutrition: share of children who are stunted in Viet Nam?
Malnutrition: share of children who are stunted in Viet Nam was 18.2% in 2023, according to World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest malnutrition: share of children who are stunted recorded in Viet Nam?
The highest recorded value was 61.5% in 1993.
What is the lowest malnutrition: share of children who are stunted recorded in Viet Nam?
The lowest recorded value was 18.2% in 2023.
How does Viet Nam rank for malnutrition: share of children who are stunted?
Viet Nam ranks 49th out of 97 countries with data for 2023.
Is malnutrition: share of children who are stunted rising or falling in Viet Nam?
Over the last ten years it is down 29.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Viet Nam 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: Share of children who are stunted. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 27 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Malnutrition: Share of children who are stunted in Viet Nam. Statizoid, drawing on World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 30 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/share-of-children-younger-than-5-who-suffer-from-stunting/viet-nam/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/share-of-children-younger-than-5-who-suffer-from-stunting/viet-nam/">Malnutrition: Share of children who are stunted in Viet Nam</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Malnutrition: Share of children who are stunted
Unit
%
Source
World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
97 places, 955 data points, 1985–2024
Last refreshed

Share of children younger than five years old who are defined as stunted. Stunting is when a child is significantly shorter than the average for their age. It is a consequence of poor nutrition or repeated infection.