Malnutrition: Number of children who are wasted in Egypt
Egypt: Malnutrition: Number of children who are wasted was 405,890 in 2021. ▲ Rising
Malnutrition: Number of children who are wasted in Egypt, 1988–2021
Source: World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2021, malnutrition: number of children who are wasted in Egypt stood at 405,890.
That represents a change of down 51.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, malnutrition: number of children who are wasted in Egypt peaked at 1.19 million in 2014 and was at its lowest, 193,470, in 1988.
Egypt ranks 12th of 99 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 11 years of available data.
Malnutrition: Number of children who are wasted in Egypt, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 193,470 | — |
| 1991 | 409,080 | +111.4% |
| 1992 | 364,080 | -11.0% |
| 1995 | 510,170 | +40.1% |
| 1997 | 669,680 | +31.3% |
| 1998 | 576,610 | -13.9% |
| 2003 | 506,140 | -12.2% |
| 2005 | 530,630 | +4.8% |
| 2008 | 835,730 | +57.5% |
| 2014 | 1.19 million | +43.0% |
| 2021 | 405,890 | -66.0% |
Egypt compared with similar countries
- Egypt's 405,890 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 112,895, 3.6× the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Egypt's 405,890 is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 121,805, 3.3× the median. (16 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 193,470 | 193,470 | 193,470 | 1 |
| 1990s | 505,924 | 364,080 | 669,680 | 5 |
| 2000s | 624,167 | 506,140 | 835,730 | 3 |
| 2010s | 1.19 million | 1.19 million | 1.19 million | 1 |
| 2020s | 405,890 | 405,890 | 405,890 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Egypt
More environment data for Egypt
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -20.54 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -13.21 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.361 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.4 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 4.56 % 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 -3.07 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is malnutrition: number of children who are wasted in Egypt?
- Malnutrition: number of children who are wasted in Egypt was 405,890 in 2021, 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 Egypt?
- The highest recorded value was 1.19 million in 2014.
- What is the lowest malnutrition: number of children who are wasted recorded in Egypt?
- The lowest recorded value was 193,470 in 1988.
- How does Egypt rank for malnutrition: number of children who are wasted?
- Egypt ranks 12th out of 99 countries with data for 2021.
- Is malnutrition: number of children who are wasted rising or falling in Egypt?
- Over the last ten years it is down 51.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Egypt 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 — 11 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.