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

Southern Asia: Number of children under 5 years affected by wasting (million) — Value was 24.4 million No in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
24.4 million No
Change on year
down 1.2%
Rank
4th
of 29 groups
All-time high
31.6 million No
in 2000
All-time low
24.4 million No
in 2024
Years of data
25
2000–2024

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

01020302000201220242000: 31.6 million No2001: 31.6 million No2002: 31.6 million No2003: 31.5 million No2004: 31.4 million No2005: 31.1 million No2006: 30.7 million No2007: 30.3 million No2008: 29.9 million No2009: 29.6 million No2010: 29.3 million No2011: 29.1 million No2012: 28.8 million No2013: 28.6 million No2014: 28.2 million No2015: 27.7 million No2016: 27.3 million No2017: 26.9 million No2018: 26.5 million No2019: 26.2 million No2020: 25.8 million No2021: 25.4 million No2022: 25 million No2023: 24.7 million No2024: 24.4 million No

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

Analysis

In 2024, number of children under 5 years affected by wasting (million) — value in Southern Asia stood at 24.4 million No. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.2% on the previous year and down 13.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of children under 5 years affected by wasting (million) — value in Southern Asia peaked at 31.6 million No in 2000 and was at its lowest, 24.4 million No, in 2024.

That places Southern Asia 4th out of 29 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.

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

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

Annual values for Number of children under 5 years affected by wasting (million) — Value in Southern Asia, 2000 to 2024.
Year million No Change
2000 31.6 million No
2001 31.6 million No +0.0%
2002 31.6 million No +0.0%
2003 31.5 million No -0.3%
2004 31.4 million No -0.3%
2005 31.1 million No -1.0%
2006 30.7 million No -1.3%
2007 30.3 million No -1.3%
2008 29.9 million No -1.3%
2009 29.6 million No -1.0%
2010 29.3 million No -1.0%
2011 29.1 million No -0.7%
2012 28.8 million No -1.0%
2013 28.6 million No -0.7%
2014 28.2 million No -1.4%
2015 27.7 million No -1.8%
2016 27.3 million No -1.4%
2017 26.9 million No -1.5%
2018 26.5 million No -1.5%
2019 26.2 million No -1.1%
2020 25.8 million No -1.5%
2021 25.4 million No -1.6%
2022 25 million No -1.6%
2023 24.7 million No -1.2%
2024 24.4 million No -1.2%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 30.93 million No 29.6 million No 31.6 million No 10
2010s 27.86 million No 26.2 million No 29.3 million No 10
2020s 25.06 million No 24.4 million No 25.8 million No 5

Countries ranked near Southern Asia

  1. 1 India 22.2 million No compare
  2. 2 Nigeria 3.9 million No compare
  3. 3 Indonesia 1.9 million No compare
  4. 4 Bangladesh 1.7 million No compare
  5. 4 China 1.7 million No compare
  6. 4 Democratic Republic of the Congo 1.4 million No compare
  7. 5 United Republic of Tanzania 0.3 million No compare
  8. 5 Viet Nam 0.3 million No compare
  9. 6 Ethiopia 1.2 million No compare
  10. 7 Yemen 1 million No compare

See the full ranking of 81 places →

More agriculture & rural data for Southern Asia

All data for Southern Asia →

Frequently asked questions

What is number of children under 5 years affected by wasting (million) — value in Southern Asia?
Number of children under 5 years affected by wasting (million) — value in Southern Asia was 24.4 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 Southern Asia?
The highest recorded value was 31.6 million No in 2000.
What is the lowest number of children under 5 years affected by wasting (million) — value recorded in Southern Asia?
The lowest recorded value was 24.4 million No in 2024.
How does Southern Asia rank for number of children under 5 years affected by wasting (million) — value?
Southern Asia ranks 4th out of 29 groups with data for 2024.
Is number of children under 5 years affected by wasting (million) — value rising or falling in Southern Asia?
Over the last ten years it is down 13.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Southern Asia 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 Southern Asia. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 09 September 2026, from https://agriculture.statizoid.com/stat/number-of-children-under-5-years-affected-by-wasting-million-value/southern-asia/

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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.