Malnutrition: Number of children who are wasted in China
China: Malnutrition: Number of children who are wasted was 1.72 million in 2017. ▼ Falling
Malnutrition: Number of children who are wasted in China, 1987–2017
Source: World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2017, malnutrition: number of children who are wasted in China stood at 1.72 million.
The figure is down 19.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, malnutrition: number of children who are wasted in China peaked at 5.52 million in 1987 and was at its lowest, 1.71 million, in 2013.
That places China 6th out of 99 countries with data for 2017, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 13 years of available data.
Malnutrition: Number of children who are wasted in China, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 5.52 million | — |
| 1990 | 5.35 million | -3.2% |
| 1992 | 4.79 million | -10.4% |
| 1995 | 5.12 million | +6.8% |
| 1998 | 2.15 million | -58.0% |
| 2000 | 2.13 million | -0.9% |
| 2002 | 2.48 million | +16.2% |
| 2005 | 2.34 million | -5.7% |
| 2008 | 2.14 million | -8.4% |
| 2009 | 2.18 million | +2.0% |
| 2010 | 1.97 million | -9.9% |
| 2013 | 1.71 million | -13.3% |
| 2017 | 1.72 million | +1.1% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 1.72 million is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 58,235, 29.6× the median. (28 countries reporting)
- China's 1.72 million is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 229,510, 7.5× the median. (13 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Malnutrition: Number of children who are wasted in China changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | -58.0% | 5.12 million | 2.15 million |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 5.52 million | 5.52 million | 5.52 million | 1 |
| 1990s | 4.35 million | 2.15 million | 5.35 million | 4 |
| 2000s | 2.25 million | 2.13 million | 2.48 million | 5 |
| 2010s | 1.80 million | 1.71 million | 1.97 million | 3 |
Countries ranked near China
More environment data for China
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.279 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.92 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.8065 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate -0.2517 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), annual 0.9037 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is malnutrition: number of children who are wasted in China?
- Malnutrition: number of children who are wasted in China was 1.72 million in 2017, 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 China?
- The highest recorded value was 5.52 million in 1987.
- What is the lowest malnutrition: number of children who are wasted recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.71 million in 2013.
- How does China rank for malnutrition: number of children who are wasted?
- China ranks 6th out of 99 countries with data for 2017.
- Is malnutrition: number of children who are wasted rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is down 19.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this China 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 — 13 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
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.