Malnutrition: Number of children who are wasted in Ghana
Ghana: Malnutrition: Number of children who are wasted was 243,860 in 2022. ▼ Falling
Malnutrition: Number of children who are wasted in Ghana, 1988–2022
Source: World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2022, malnutrition: number of children who are wasted in Ghana stood at 243,860.
That represents a change of up 3.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, malnutrition: number of children who are wasted in Ghana peaked at 346,320 in 1993 and was at its lowest, 191,210, in 2014.
Ghana ranks 26th of 99 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 11 years of available data.
Malnutrition: Number of children who are wasted in Ghana, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 237,980 | — |
| 1993 | 346,320 | +45.5% |
| 1997 | 238,560 | -31.1% |
| 1998 | 290,560 | +21.8% |
| 2003 | 275,430 | -5.2% |
| 2006 | 209,830 | -23.8% |
| 2008 | 314,850 | +50.1% |
| 2011 | 236,450 | -24.9% |
| 2014 | 191,210 | -19.1% |
| 2017 | 286,670 | +49.9% |
| 2022 | 243,860 | -14.9% |
Ghana compared with similar countries
- Ghana's 243,860 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 112,895, 2.2× the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Ghana's 243,860 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 175,595, 1.4× the median. (34 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 237,980 | 237,980 | 237,980 | 1 |
| 1990s | 291,813 | 238,560 | 346,320 | 3 |
| 2000s | 266,703 | 209,830 | 314,850 | 3 |
| 2010s | 238,110 | 191,210 | 286,670 | 3 |
| 2020s | 243,860 | 243,860 | 243,860 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Ghana
More environment data for Ghana
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -13.57 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -11.89 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.26 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.34 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.72 % 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 0.8796 % 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 Ghana?
- Malnutrition: number of children who are wasted in Ghana was 243,860 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 Ghana?
- The highest recorded value was 346,320 in 1993.
- What is the lowest malnutrition: number of children who are wasted recorded in Ghana?
- The lowest recorded value was 191,210 in 2014.
- How does Ghana rank for malnutrition: number of children who are wasted?
- Ghana ranks 26th out of 99 countries with data for 2022.
- Is malnutrition: number of children who are wasted rising or falling in Ghana?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ghana 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.