Malnutrition: Prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Korea
Korea: Malnutrition: Prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female was 0.8% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Malnutrition: Prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Korea, 2003–2020
Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME) - UNICEF, WHO, and World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of children under 5.
Analysis
In 2020, malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Korea stood at 0.8%. That is the lowest value across all 5 years on record.
That represents a change of down 75.0% on the previous year and down 57.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Korea peaked at 3.2% in 2017 and was at its lowest, 0.8%, in 2020.
That places Korea 83rd out of 83 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.
Malnutrition: Prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Korea, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 2.4% | — |
| 2011 | 1.9% | -20.8% |
| 2014 | 2.4% | +26.3% |
| 2017 | 3.2% | +33.3% |
| 2020 | 0.8% | -75.0% |
Korea compared with similar countries
- Korea's 0.8% is below the median for high income countries, which is 5.5%, 14% of the median. (8 countries reporting)
- Korea's 0.8% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 23.5%, 3% of the median. (12 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 2.4% | 2.4% | 2.4% | 1 |
| 2010s | 2.5% | 1.9% | 3.2% | 3 |
| 2020s | 0.8% | 0.8% | 0.8% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Korea
- 80 Kuwait 3.8% compare
- 81 United States 2.8% compare
- 82 United Kingdom 1.8% compare
More gender data for Korea
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) 4,318 (2030)
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) (0-14), annual growth -3.79 % change on previous year (2030)
- Population 46,871 (2030)
- Working-age population (UN estimates and projections) 46,871 (2030)
- Population (UN estimates and projections), annual growth rate 0.0957 % change on previous year (2030)
- Age population, age 00, female, interpolated 119,025 (2025)
- Age population, age 00, male, interpolated 125,732 (2025)
- Age population, age 01, female, interpolated 116,471 (2025)
- Age population, age 01, male, interpolated 122,813 (2025)
- Age population, age 02, female, interpolated 119,098 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Korea?
- Malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Korea was 0.8% in 2020, according to Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME) - UNICEF, WHO, and World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female recorded in Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 3.2% in 2017.
- What is the lowest malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female recorded in Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.8% in 2020.
- How does Korea rank for malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female?
- Korea ranks 83rd out of 83 countries with data for 2020.
- Is malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female rising or falling in Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 57.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Korea data come from?
- The figures come from Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME) - UNICEF, WHO, and World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Malnutrition: Prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 5 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of children younger than 5 years, male versus female, that fall below two standard deviations from the median height-for-age of the WHO Child Growth Standards.