Malnutrition: Number of children who are wasted in Bangladesh

Bangladesh: Malnutrition: Number of children who are wasted was 1.74 million in 2022. ▼ Falling

Latest (2022)
1.74 million
Change on year
up 12.9%
World rank
5th
of 99 countries
All-time high
3.51 million
in 1997
All-time low
1.31 million
in 2018
Years of data
27
1986–2022

Malnutrition: Number of children who are wasted in Bangladesh, 1986–2022

01.0M2.0M3.0M4.0M1986200420221986: 3.0M1990: 3.0M1991: 2.6M1992: 2.8M1993: 2.4M1994: 2.8M1995: 2.5M1996: 2.6M1997: 3.5M1998: 2.6M1999: 2.4M2000: 2.2M2001: 2.3M2002: 2.3M2003: 2.3M2004: 2.7M2005: 2.6M2006: 2.1M2007: 3.1M2011: 2.6M2012: 1.8M2013: 1.5M2014: 2.2M2015: 1.5M2018: 1.3M2019: 1.5M2022: 1.7M

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

Analysis

Bangladesh recorded 1.74 million for malnutrition: number of children who are wasted in 2022.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 12.9% on the previous year and down 1.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, malnutrition: number of children who are wasted in Bangladesh peaked at 3.51 million in 1997 and was at its lowest, 1.31 million, in 2018.

Bangladesh ranks 5th of 99 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 3.00 million 3.00 million 3.00 million 1
1990s 2.73 million 2.38 million 3.51 million 10
2000s 2.46 million 2.15 million 3.12 million 8
2010s 1.79 million 1.31 million 2.58 million 7
2020s 1.74 million 1.74 million 1.74 million 1

Countries ranked near Bangladesh

  1. 2 Nigeria 3.86 million compare
  2. 3 Pakistan 2.19 million compare
  3. 4 Indonesia 1.88 million compare
  4. 6 China 1.72 million compare
  5. 7 Democratic Republic of Congo 1.39 million compare
  6. 8 Ethiopia 1.17 million compare

See the full ranking of 99 places →

More environment data for Bangladesh

All data for Bangladesh →

Frequently asked questions

What is malnutrition: number of children who are wasted in Bangladesh?
Malnutrition: number of children who are wasted in Bangladesh was 1.74 million in 2022, 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 wasted recorded in Bangladesh?
The highest recorded value was 3.51 million in 1997.
What is the lowest malnutrition: number of children who are wasted recorded in Bangladesh?
The lowest recorded value was 1.31 million in 2018.
How does Bangladesh rank for malnutrition: number of children who are wasted?
Bangladesh ranks 5th out of 99 countries with data for 2022.
Is malnutrition: number of children who are wasted rising or falling in Bangladesh?
Over the last ten years it is down 1.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Bangladesh 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 wasted. 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).

About this data

Indicator
Malnutrition: Number of children who are wasted
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
99 places, 962 data points, 1985–2024
Last refreshed

Estimated number of children younger than five who are 'wasted'. Wasting is when a child’s weight is significantly lower than the average for their height, for example because of acute food shortage or disease.