Number of children under 5 years affected by wasting (million) — Value in Africa

Africa: Number of children under 5 years affected by wasting (million) — Value was 11.7 million No in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
11.7 million No
Change on year
unchanged
Rank
5th
of 29 groups
All-time high
12.2 million No
in 2012
All-time low
11.2 million No
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Number of children under 5 years affected by wasting (million) — Value in Africa, 2000–2024

02.557.51012.52000201220242000: 11.2 million No2001: 11.2 million No2002: 11.3 million No2003: 11.4 million No2004: 11.5 million No2005: 11.6 million No2006: 11.7 million No2007: 11.8 million No2008: 11.9 million No2009: 12 million No2010: 12.1 million No2011: 12.1 million No2012: 12.2 million No2013: 12.2 million No2014: 12.2 million No2015: 12.2 million No2016: 12.2 million No2017: 12.2 million No2018: 12.1 million No2019: 12.1 million No2020: 12 million No2021: 11.9 million No2022: 11.8 million No2023: 11.7 million No2024: 11.7 million No

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in million No.

Analysis

Africa recorded 11.7 million No for number of children under 5 years affected by wasting (million) — value in 2024.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 4.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of children under 5 years affected by wasting (million) — value in Africa peaked at 12.2 million No in 2012 and was at its lowest, 11.2 million No, in 2000.

That places Africa 5th out of 29 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.

Number of children under 5 years affected by wasting (million) — Value in Africa, year by year

Annual values for Number of children under 5 years affected by wasting (million) — Value in Africa, 2000 to 2024.
Year million No Change
2000 11.2 million No
2001 11.2 million No +0.0%
2002 11.3 million No +0.9%
2003 11.4 million No +0.9%
2004 11.5 million No +0.9%
2005 11.6 million No +0.9%
2006 11.7 million No +0.9%
2007 11.8 million No +0.9%
2008 11.9 million No +0.8%
2009 12 million No +0.8%
2010 12.1 million No +0.8%
2011 12.1 million No +0.0%
2012 12.2 million No +0.8%
2013 12.2 million No +0.0%
2014 12.2 million No +0.0%
2015 12.2 million No +0.0%
2016 12.2 million No +0.0%
2017 12.2 million No +0.0%
2018 12.1 million No -0.8%
2019 12.1 million No +0.0%
2020 12 million No -0.8%
2021 11.9 million No -0.8%
2022 11.8 million No -0.8%
2023 11.7 million No -0.8%
2024 11.7 million No +0.0%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 11.56 million No 11.2 million No 12 million No 10
2010s 12.16 million No 12.1 million No 12.2 million No 10
2020s 11.82 million No 11.7 million No 12 million No 5

Countries ranked near Africa

  1. 2 Nigeria 3.9 million No compare
  2. 3 Indonesia 1.9 million No compare
  3. 4 Bangladesh 1.7 million No compare
  4. 4 China 1.7 million No compare
  5. 4 Democratic Republic of the Congo 1.4 million No compare
  6. 5 United Republic of Tanzania 0.3 million No compare
  7. 5 Viet Nam 0.3 million No compare
  8. 6 Ethiopia 1.2 million No compare
  9. 7 Yemen 1 million No compare
  10. 8 Democratic People's Republic of Korea 0.1 million No compare
  11. 8 Lao People's Democratic Republic 0.1 million No compare
  12. 8 Philippines 0.6 million No compare
  13. 8 Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) 0.1 million No compare

See the full ranking of 81 places →

More agriculture & rural data for Africa

All data for Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is number of children under 5 years affected by wasting (million) — value in Africa?
Number of children under 5 years affected by wasting (million) — value in Africa was 11.7 million No in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest number of children under 5 years affected by wasting (million) — value recorded in Africa?
The highest recorded value was 12.2 million No in 2012.
What is the lowest number of children under 5 years affected by wasting (million) — value recorded in Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 11.2 million No in 2000.
How does Africa rank for number of children under 5 years affected by wasting (million) — value?
Africa ranks 5th out of 29 groups with data for 2024.
Is number of children under 5 years affected by wasting (million) — value rising or falling in Africa?
Over the last ten years it is down 4.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Africa data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Number of children under 5 years affected by wasting (million) — Value. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Number of children under 5 years affected by wasting (million) — Value in Africa. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 06 September 2026, from https://agriculture.statizoid.com/stat/number-of-children-under-5-years-affected-by-wasting-million-value/africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Number of children under 5 years affected by wasting (million) — Value
Unit
million No
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
81 places, 1,179 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

The Suite of Food Security Indicators presents the core set of food security indicators. Following the recommendation of experts gathered in the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) Round Table on hunger measurement, hosted at FAO headquarters in September 2011, an initial set of indicators aiming to capture various aspects of food insecurity is presented here. The choice of the indicators has been informed by expert judgement and the availability of data with sufficient coverage to enable comparisons across regions and over time. Many of these indicators are produced and published elsewhere by FAO and other international organizations. They are reported here in a single database with the aim of building a wide food security information system. More indicators will be added to this set as more data will become available. Indicators are classified along the four dimensions of food security -- availability, access, utilization and stability.