Malnutrition: Number of children who are wasted in Vietnam
Vietnam: Malnutrition: Number of children who are wasted was 315,850 in 2023. ▼ Falling
Malnutrition: Number of children who are wasted in Vietnam, 1988–2023
Source: World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for malnutrition: number of children who are wasted in Vietnam is 315,850, measured in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.8% on the previous year and down 37.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, malnutrition: number of children who are wasted in Vietnam peaked at 1.20 million in 1994 and was at its lowest, 304,910, in 2010.
Vietnam ranks 19th of 99 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 26 years of available data.
Malnutrition: Number of children who are wasted in Vietnam, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 982,450 | — |
| 1993 | 599,520 | -39.0% |
| 1994 | 1.20 million | +100.6% |
| 1998 | 916,310 | -23.8% |
| 1999 | 797,120 | -13.0% |
| 2000 | 427,760 | -46.3% |
| 2002 | 595,340 | +39.2% |
| 2003 | 733,010 | +23.1% |
| 2004 | 769,850 | +5.0% |
| 2005 | 735,290 | -4.5% |
| 2006 | 683,770 | -7.0% |
| 2007 | 709,340 | +3.7% |
| 2008 | 683,420 | -3.7% |
| 2009 | 524,310 | -23.3% |
| 2010 | 304,910 | -41.8% |
| 2011 | 495,350 | +62.5% |
| 2012 | 507,790 | +2.5% |
| 2013 | 504,140 | -0.7% |
| 2014 | 527,780 | +4.7% |
| 2015 | 509,120 | -3.5% |
| 2017 | 485,030 | -4.7% |
| 2018 | 442,670 | -8.7% |
| 2019 | 412,880 | -6.7% |
| 2020 | 361,420 | -12.5% |
| 2022 | 321,710 | -11.0% |
| 2023 | 315,850 | -1.8% |
Vietnam compared with similar countries
- Vietnam's 315,850 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 58,235, 5.4× the median. (28 countries reporting)
- Vietnam's 315,850 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 229,510, 1.4× the median. (13 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Malnutrition: Number of children who are wasted in Vietnam 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | +100.6% | 599,520 | 1.20 million |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 982,450 | 982,450 | 982,450 | 1 |
| 1990s | 878,875 | 599,520 | 1.20 million | 4 |
| 2000s | 651,343 | 427,760 | 769,850 | 9 |
| 2010s | 465,519 | 304,910 | 527,780 | 9 |
| 2020s | 332,993 | 315,850 | 361,420 | 3 |
Countries ranked near Vietnam
More environment data for Vietnam
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 7.61 % 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 0.6558 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), annual 1.16 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per unit of 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) (Mt CO2e) -6.45 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is malnutrition: number of children who are wasted in Vietnam?
- Malnutrition: number of children who are wasted in Vietnam was 315,850 in 2023, 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 Vietnam?
- The highest recorded value was 1.20 million in 1994.
- What is the lowest malnutrition: number of children who are wasted recorded in Vietnam?
- The lowest recorded value was 304,910 in 2010.
- How does Vietnam rank for malnutrition: number of children who are wasted?
- Vietnam ranks 19th out of 99 countries with data for 2023.
- Is malnutrition: number of children who are wasted rising or falling in Vietnam?
- Over the last ten years it is down 37.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Vietnam 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 — 26 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.