Wasting in children — all countries

Wasting in children — Vietnam

Wasting in children in Vietnam in 2023 — 4.4%. Ranked 14 in the world out of 24. Since 1988, the indicator has fallen by 6.7 pp.

2023 4.4% +0 pp vs 2022
World rank 14of 24
Period maximum 13.5%1994
Period minimum 4.1%2010

Trend over time

1988–2023 · % of children under 5

Wasting in children — Vietnam, 1988–202305101519881992199620002004200820122016202020231988: 11.1%1993: 6.7%1994: 13.5%1998: 11.9%1999: 10.9%2000: 6.1%2002: 8.8%2003: 10.8%2004: 11.2%2005: 10.6%2006: 9.8%2007: 10%2008: 9.4%2009: 7.1%2010: 4.1%2011: 6.6%2012: 6.7%2013: 6.6%2014: 6.8%2015: 6.4%2017: 5.8%2018: 5.4%2019: 5.2%2020: 4.7%2022: 4.4%2023: 4.4%
Change over the period: −6.7 pp Annual average: -0.19 pp

Comparison, 2023

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

Vietnam 4.4%
World 6.6%
Wasting in children — Vietnam, by year Vietnam All countries CSV XLSX
Year % Change, pp
2023 4.4 +0 pp
2022 4.4
2020 4.7 −0.5 pp
2019 5.2 −0.2 pp
2018 5.4 −0.4 pp
2017 5.8
2015 6.4 −0.4 pp
2014 6.8 +0.2 pp
2013 6.6 −0.1 pp
2012 6.7 +0.1 pp
2011 6.6 +2.5 pp
2010 4.1 −3 pp
2009 7.1 −2.3 pp
2008 9.4 −0.6 pp
2007 10 +0.2 pp
2006 9.8 −0.8 pp
2005 10.6 −0.6 pp
2004 11.2 +0.4 pp
2003 10.8 +2 pp
2002 8.8
2000 6.1 −4.8 pp
1999 10.9 −1 pp
1998 11.9
1994 13.5 +6.8 pp
1993 6.7
1988 11.1

South-Eastern Asia, 2023

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.