Wasting in children — all countries

Wasting in children — Nepal

Wasting in children in Nepal in 2022 — 7%. Ranked 21 in the world out of 31. Since 1995, the indicator has risen by 1 pp.

2022 7% −5 pp vs 2019
World rank 21of 31
Period maximum 13.7%2010
Period minimum 6%1995

Trend over time

1995–2022 · % of children under 5

Wasting in children — Nepal, 1995–20226810121419951998200120042007201020132016201920221995: 6%1996: 13.3%1998: 7.8%2001: 11.3%2006: 12.7%2010: 13.7%2011: 11.2%2014: 11.3%2016: 9.7%2019: 12%2022: 7%
Change over the period: +1 pp Annual average: 0.04 pp

Comparison, 2022

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

Nepal 7%
World 6.7%
South Asia 15.9%
Wasting in children — Nepal, by year Nepal All countries CSV XLSX
Year % Change, pp
2022 7
2019 12
2016 9.7
2014 11.3
2011 11.2 −2.5 pp
2010 13.7
2006 12.7
2001 11.3
1998 7.8
1996 13.3 +7.3 pp
1995 6

Southern Asia, 2022

The same indicator for neighboring countries — with links to their pages

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.