Malnutrition: Number of children who are wasted in Philippines
Philippines: Malnutrition: Number of children who are wasted was 574,510 in 2021. ▼ Falling
Malnutrition: Number of children who are wasted in Philippines, 1987–2021
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 Philippines stood at 574,510.
That represents a change of down 11.7% on the previous year and down 32.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, malnutrition: number of children who are wasted in Philippines peaked at 940,480 in 1993 and was at its lowest, 534,390, in 1987.
Philippines ranks 10th of 99 countries on this measure, 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 Philippines, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 534,390 | — |
| 1990 | 685,220 | +28.2% |
| 1992 | 900,230 | +31.4% |
| 1993 | 940,480 | +4.5% |
| 1998 | 867,600 | -7.7% |
| 2003 | 657,470 | -24.2% |
| 2008 | 774,890 | +17.9% |
| 2011 | 855,300 | +10.4% |
| 2013 | 938,950 | +9.8% |
| 2015 | 824,710 | -12.2% |
| 2018 | 633,230 | -23.2% |
| 2019 | 650,380 | +2.7% |
| 2021 | 574,510 | -11.7% |
Philippines compared with similar countries
- Philippines's 574,510 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 58,235, 9.9× the median. (28 countries reporting)
- Philippines's 574,510 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 229,510, 2.5× the median. (13 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 534,390 | 534,390 | 534,390 | 1 |
| 1990s | 848,382 | 685,220 | 940,480 | 4 |
| 2000s | 716,180 | 657,470 | 774,890 | 2 |
| 2010s | 780,514 | 633,230 | 938,950 | 5 |
| 2020s | 574,510 | 574,510 | 574,510 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Philippines
More environment data for Philippines
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 6.85 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 7.07 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.177 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 0.905 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 4.74 % 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 -2.01 % 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 Philippines?
- Malnutrition: number of children who are wasted in Philippines was 574,510 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 Philippines?
- The highest recorded value was 940,480 in 1993.
- What is the lowest malnutrition: number of children who are wasted recorded in Philippines?
- The lowest recorded value was 534,390 in 1987.
- How does Philippines rank for malnutrition: number of children who are wasted?
- Philippines ranks 10th out of 99 countries with data for 2021.
- Is malnutrition: number of children who are wasted rising or falling in Philippines?
- Over the last ten years it is down 32.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Philippines 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.