Malnutrition: Number of children who are wasted in Uganda

Uganda: Malnutrition: Number of children who are wasted was 249,160 in 2022. ▲ Rising

Latest (2022)
249,160
Change on year
down 6.9%
World rank
25th
of 99 countries
All-time high
383,940
in 2015
All-time low
101,090
in 1988
Years of data
13
1988–2022

Malnutrition: Number of children who are wasted in Uganda, 1988–2022

100.0k200.0k300.0k400.0k1988200520221988: 101.1k1995: 252.3k2000: 240.8k2006: 350.5k2009: 265.5k2011: 289.2k2012: 269.2k2014: 252.1k2015: 383.9k2016: 239.4k2018: 198.7k2020: 267.5k2022: 249.2k

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.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest 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

  1. 22 Chad 267,670 compare
  2. 23 Malaysia 259,590 compare
  3. 24 Senegal 250,070 compare
  4. 26 Ghana 243,860 compare
  5. 27 Afghanistan 237,170 compare
  6. 28 Russia 232,140 compare

See the full ranking of 99 places →

More environment data for Uganda

All data for Uganda →

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

Indicator
Malnutrition: Number of children who are wasted
Source
World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
99 places, 962 data points, 1985–2024
Last refreshed

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.