Wasting in children — all countries

Wasting in children — Mongolia

Wasting in children in Mongolia in 2023 — 2.7%. Ranked 10 in the world out of 24. Since 1992, the indicator has risen by 0.3 pp.

2023 2.7% +1.8 pp vs 2018
World rank 10of 24
Period maximum 7.1%2000
Period minimum 0.8%2004

Trend over time

1992–2023 · % of children under 5

Wasting in children — Mongolia, 1992–2023024681992199620002004200820122016202020231992: 2.4%1999: 4.3%2000: 7.1%2004: 0.8%2005: 2.7%2010: 1.6%2013: 1%2016: 1.2%2018: 0.9%2023: 2.7%
Change over the period: +0.3 pp Annual average: 0.01 pp

Comparison, 2023

How the value compares with the world and the groups this territory belongs to: Mongolia

Mongolia 2.7%
World 6.6%
Wasting in children — Mongolia, by year Mongolia All countries CSV XLSX
Year % Change, pp
2023 2.7
2018 0.9
2016 1.2
2013 1
2010 1.6
2005 2.7 +1.9 pp
2004 0.8
2000 7.1 +2.8 pp
1999 4.3
1992 2.4

About the indicator

The share of children under five whose weight falls short of the WHO norm for their height by more than two standard deviations. Unlike stunting, wasting speaks of an acute shortage of nutrition or of a recent illness, and it is reversible: with normal feeding a child regains the weight. That is exactly why wasting serves as an indicator of a current crisis — drought, war, breaks in supply — and not of long-standing poverty.

Important: The data come from sample surveys, so the years are intermittent. The aggregate by group is weighted by the number of children aged 0–14.

Source: Global Health Observatory (WHO), license CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.