Learning Topics Population & Demography

POPULATION & DEMOGRAPHY · DATA EXPLORER

Where do children affected by malnutrition live?

Global health data can tell us not only how many children are affected by malnutrition, but also where those children live. In this exploration, we look at the geographic distribution of stunting, wasting and overweight among children under 5 in 2024.

Self Family & Peers Community Country World
2024 Global child malnutrition distribution Children under 5

EXPLORE THE DATA

Three conditions. Three different patterns.

Stunting, wasting and overweight are different forms of malnutrition. Their global distributions are not identical. Looking carefully at the percentages helps us ask better questions about population size, nutrition, living conditions, food systems and health systems.

51% STUNTING

More than half of the world's stunted children live in Asia.

Think:

What might this tell us about population size, nutrition, living conditions and health systems?

Africa: 43%

70% WASTING

Seven out of every ten children affected by wasting globally live in Asia.

Think:

Why might wasting have such a different geographic distribution from stunting?

Africa: 27%

46% OVERWEIGHT

Almost half of the world's children affected by overweight live in Asia.

Think:

Why can undernutrition and overweight exist in the same region?

Africa: 27%

LOOK CLOSER

The numbers tell a geographic story

Compare the distribution of children affected by the three forms of malnutrition. Notice how the pattern changes depending on the condition.

Global distribution of children under 5 affected by stunting, wasting and overweight in 2024, showing the shares living in Asia and Africa
Chart 2. Global distribution of children under 5 affected by stunting, wasting and overweight in 2024. Source: UNICEF, WHO and World Bank Group, Joint Child Malnutrition Estimates, 2025 edition.

DATA LITERACY

A share is not the same as a prevalence

This is one of the most important ideas in reading global health data correctly.

WHAT THE CHART SHOWS

Share of the global burden

“Asia 51%” means that 51% of all children under 5 affected by stunting worldwide lived in Asia in 2024.

WHAT IT DOES NOT SHOW

Prevalence within Asia

It does not mean that 51% of children in Asia were stunted. That would require a different denominator.

Always ask: “51% of what?”

THINK BEYOND ONE CONDITION

Can undernutrition and overweight exist in the same region?

Yes. A population can experience different forms of malnutrition at the same time. This is sometimes described as the double burden of malnutrition.

The Asia figures provide an opportunity to explore this idea: a large share of the global burden of both stunting and childhood overweight is found in the same broad region.

51% Global share of children affected by stunting living in Asia
46% Global share of children affected by overweight living in Asia
DOUBLE BURDEN

CHECK YOUR THINKING

Can you read the chart correctly?

Choose the answer that best interprets the information. The questions focus on what the percentages actually mean.

Q1

What does “Asia 51%” for stunting mean?

A

51% of Asian children are stunted

B

51% of the world's stunted children live in Asia

C

Asia has 51% more stunting than Africa

D

Stunting affects 51% of all children worldwide

Q2

Which condition has the largest share of affected children living in Asia?

A

Stunting

B

Wasting

C

Overweight

D

They are equal

Q3

What is most interesting about the overweight data?

A

Overweight occurs only in wealthy countries

B

Africa has no children affected by overweight

C

Both Asia and Africa account for substantial shares of the global burden

D

Overweight and undernutrition cannot occur in the same region

Q4

Which statement best describes the chart?

A

It compares prevalence of malnutrition between Asia and Africa

B

It shows where children affected by different forms of malnutrition live

C

It shows Asia has the highest prevalence for every condition

D

It compares individual children's nutritional status

Q5

Why should we be careful when interpreting these percentages?

A

Percentages are never useful

B

They describe shares of global burden, not prevalence within each region

C

They only apply to adults

D

They are estimates of future populations

Q6

What question would require different data from this chart?

A

Where do affected children live?

B

Which condition has the largest share in Asia?

C

What proportion of children in Asia are stunted?

D

How are global burdens distributed?

GHE DATA SKILL

Read the denominator before you interpret the percentage.

A percentage only has meaning when we know what the percentage is a percentage of. The denominator tells us what question the number can answer.

01 Percentage What number do you see?
02 What is the denominator? Percentage of what?
03 What question does it answer? Interpret before you conclude.

DATA SOURCE

UNICEF · WHO · World Bank Group

Joint Child Malnutrition Estimates, 2025 edition.

The Joint Child Malnutrition Estimates provide harmonized global and regional estimates of child stunting, wasting and overweight.

REFLECT

One number can tell a story — if you know what it means.

Global health is full of percentages. Your job as a data-literate explorer is to pause, identify the denominator, understand the population being described, and then ask what the data can — and cannot — tell you.

Explore the number. Understand the denominator. Ask a better question.