Malnutrition: Number of children who are wasted in Nigeria
Nigeria: Malnutrition: Number of children who are wasted was 3.86 million in 2021. ▬ Flat
Malnutrition: Number of children who are wasted in Nigeria, 1990–2021
Source: World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Nigeria recorded 3.86 million for malnutrition: number of children who are wasted in 2021. That is the highest value across all 10 years on record.
That represents a change of up 78.2% on the previous year and up 24.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, malnutrition: number of children who are wasted in Nigeria peaked at 3.86 million in 2021 and was at its lowest, 2.03 million, in 1990.
That places Nigeria 2nd out of 99 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the top 10%.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 2.93 million | 2.03 million | 3.83 million | 2 |
| 2000s | 2.74 million | 2.74 million | 2.74 million | 1 |
| 2010s | 2.78 million | 2.27 million | 3.58 million | 5 |
| 2020s | 3.01 million | 2.16 million | 3.86 million | 2 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
More environment data for Nigeria
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 350.56 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 1.51 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 56.75 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 8.67 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 75.63 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.1661 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 175.13 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0267 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.5526 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 33.33 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is malnutrition: number of children who are wasted in Nigeria?
- Malnutrition: number of children who are wasted in Nigeria was 3.86 million 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 Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 3.86 million in 2021.
- What is the lowest malnutrition: number of children who are wasted recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.03 million in 1990.
- How does Nigeria rank for malnutrition: number of children who are wasted?
- Nigeria ranks 2nd out of 99 countries with data for 2021.
- Is malnutrition: number of children who are wasted rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 24.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Nigeria 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 — 10 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.