Malnutrition: Prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Nepal
Nepal: Malnutrition: Prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female was 24.7% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Malnutrition: Prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Nepal, 1996–2022
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
Nepal recorded 24.7% for malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in 2022. That is the lowest value across all 10 years on record.
That represents a change of down 24.9% on the previous year and down 39.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Nepal peaked at 62.6% in 1998 and was at its lowest, 24.7%, in 2022.
That places Nepal 35th out of 83 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 10 years of available data.
Malnutrition: Prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Nepal, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 56.2% | — |
| 1998 | 62.6% | +11.4% |
| 2001 | 55.8% | -10.9% |
| 2006 | 49.0% | -12.2% |
| 2010 | 40.1% | -18.2% |
| 2011 | 41.0% | +2.2% |
| 2014 | 36.1% | -12.0% |
| 2016 | 36.0% | -0.3% |
| 2019 | 32.9% | -8.6% |
| 2022 | 24.7% | -24.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 59.4% | 56.2% | 62.6% | 2 |
| 2000s | 52.4% | 49.0% | 55.8% | 2 |
| 2010s | 37.2% | 32.9% | 41.0% | 5 |
| 2020s | 24.7% | 24.7% | 24.7% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Nepal
More gender data for Nepal
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) 7,927 (2030)
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) (0-14), annual growth -0.7039 % change on previous year (2030)
- Age population, age 00, female, interpolated 264,089 (2025)
- Age population, age 00, male, interpolated 273,367 (2025)
- Age population, age 01, female, interpolated 265,882 (2025)
- Age population, age 01, male, interpolated 274,092 (2025)
- Age population, age 02, female, interpolated 268,570 (2025)
- Age population, age 02, male, interpolated 277,470 (2025)
- Age population, age 03, female, interpolated 269,376 (2025)
- Age population, age 03, male, interpolated 278,739 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Nepal?
- Malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Nepal was 24.7% in 2022, 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 Nepal?
- The highest recorded value was 62.6% in 1998.
- What is the lowest malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female recorded in Nepal?
- The lowest recorded value was 24.7% in 2022.
- How does Nepal rank for malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female?
- Nepal ranks 35th out of 83 countries with data for 2022.
- Is malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female rising or falling in Nepal?
- Over the last ten years it is down 39.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Nepal 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 10 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.