Malnutrition: Number of children who are wasted in Uganda
Uganda: Malnutrition: Number of children who are wasted was 249,160 in 2022. ▲ Rising
Malnutrition: Number of children who are wasted in Uganda, 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 Uganda stood at 249,160.
That represents a change of down 6.9% on the previous year and down 7.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, malnutrition: number of children who are wasted in Uganda peaked at 383,940 in 2015 and was at its lowest, 101,090, in 1988.
Uganda ranks 25th of 99 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
Malnutrition: Number of children who are wasted in Uganda, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 101,090 | — |
| 1995 | 252,280 | +149.6% |
| 2000 | 240,790 | -4.6% |
| 2006 | 350,510 | +45.6% |
| 2009 | 265,520 | -24.2% |
| 2011 | 289,200 | +8.9% |
| 2012 | 269,220 | -6.9% |
| 2014 | 252,140 | -6.3% |
| 2015 | 383,940 | +52.3% |
| 2016 | 239,370 | -37.7% |
| 2018 | 198,710 | -17.0% |
| 2020 | 267,520 | +34.6% |
| 2022 | 249,160 | -6.9% |
Uganda compared with similar countries
- Uganda's 249,160 is above the median for low income countries, which is 229,410, 1.1× the median. (21 countries reporting)
- Uganda's 249,160 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 175,595, 1.4× the median. (34 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Malnutrition: Number of children who are wasted in Uganda 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | +149.6% | 101,090 | 252,280 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 101,090 | 101,090 | 101,090 | 1 |
| 1990s | 252,280 | 252,280 | 252,280 | 1 |
| 2000s | 285,607 | 240,790 | 350,510 | 3 |
| 2010s | 272,097 | 198,710 | 383,940 | 6 |
| 2020s | 258,340 | 249,160 | 267,520 | 2 |
Countries ranked near Uganda
More environment data for Uganda
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -11.7 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -12.54 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.255 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.23 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 1.23 % 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 1.38 % 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 Uganda?
- Malnutrition: number of children who are wasted in Uganda was 249,160 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 Uganda?
- The highest recorded value was 383,940 in 2015.
- What is the lowest malnutrition: number of children who are wasted recorded in Uganda?
- The lowest recorded value was 101,090 in 1988.
- How does Uganda rank for malnutrition: number of children who are wasted?
- Uganda ranks 25th out of 99 countries with data for 2022.
- Is malnutrition: number of children who are wasted rising or falling in Uganda?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Uganda 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.