Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Korea
Korea: Prevalence of stunting, height for age was 0.9% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Korea, 2003–2020
Source: UNICEF, WHO, World Bank: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME). Aggregation is based on UNICEF, WHO, and the World Bank harmonized dataset (adjusted, comparable data) and methodology., UN Children'. Measured in % of children under 5.
Analysis
Korea recorded 0.9% for prevalence of stunting, height for age in 2020. That is the lowest value across all 5 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 60.9% on the previous year and down 30.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of stunting, height for age in Korea peaked at 2.5% in 2003 and was at its lowest, 0.9%, in 2020.
That places Korea 97th out of 97 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.
Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Korea, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 2.5% | — |
| 2011 | 1.3% | -48.0% |
| 2014 | 1.6% | +23.1% |
| 2017 | 2.3% | +43.7% |
| 2020 | 0.9% | -60.9% |
Korea compared with similar countries
- Korea's 0.9% is below the median for high income countries, which is 3.8%, 24% of the median. (11 countries reporting)
- Korea's 0.9% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 21.2%, 4% of the median. (13 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 2.5% | 2.5% | 2.5% | 1 |
| 2010s | 1.7% | 1.3% | 2.3% | 3 |
| 2020s | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Korea
More health data for Korea
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.43 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.1935 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 2,072 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 69 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -2.66 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.0118 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate -2.76 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of stunting, height for age in Korea?
- Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Korea was 0.9% in 2020, according to UNICEF, WHO, World Bank: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME). Aggregation is based on UNICEF, WHO, and the World Bank harmonized dataset (adjusted, comparable data) and methodology., UN Children'.
- What is the highest prevalence of stunting, height for age recorded in Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 2.5% in 2003.
- What is the lowest prevalence of stunting, height for age recorded in Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.9% in 2020.
- How does Korea rank for prevalence of stunting, height for age?
- Korea ranks 97th out of 97 countries with data for 2020.
- Is prevalence of stunting, height for age rising or falling in Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 30.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Korea data come from?
- The figures come from UNICEF, WHO, World Bank: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME). Aggregation is based on UNICEF, WHO, and the World Bank harmonized dataset (adjusted, comparable data) and methodology., UN Children', published as part of Prevalence of stunting, height for age (% of children under 5). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 5 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Prevalence of stunting is the percentage of children under age 5 whose height for age is more than two standard deviations below the median for the international reference population ages 0-59 months. For children up to two years old height is measured by recumbent length. For older children height is measured by stature while standing. The data are based on the WHO's 2006 Child Growth Standards.