Prevalence of stunting, height for age (% of children under 5) in Vietnam
Vietnam: Prevalence of stunting, height for age (% of children under 5) was 18.2% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Vietnam, 1988–2023
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
Vietnam recorded 18.2% for prevalence of stunting, height for age in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 27 years on record.
That represents a change of down 3.7% on the previous year and down 29.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of stunting, height for age in Vietnam peaked at 61.5% in 1993 and was at its lowest, 18.2%, in 2023.
That places Vietnam 49th out of 97 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 27 years of available data.
Prevalence of stunting, height for age (% of children under 5) in Vietnam, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 61.3% | — |
| 1993 | 61.5% | +0.3% |
| 1994 | 52.5% | -14.6% |
| 1998 | 42.1% | -19.8% |
| 1999 | 43.8% | +4.0% |
| 2000 | 42.9% | -2.1% |
| 2002 | 37.5% | -12.6% |
| 2003 | 35.4% | -5.6% |
| 2004 | 33.7% | -4.8% |
| 2005 | 33.3% | -1.2% |
| 2006 | 31.7% | -4.8% |
| 2007 | 31.7% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 30.8% | -2.8% |
| 2009 | 29.3% | -4.9% |
| 2010 | 22.7% | -22.5% |
| 2011 | 27.5% | +21.1% |
| 2012 | 26.7% | -2.9% |
| 2013 | 25.9% | -3.0% |
| 2014 | 24.9% | -3.9% |
| 2015 | 24.6% | -1.2% |
| 2016 | 24.3% | -1.2% |
| 2017 | 23.8% | -2.1% |
| 2018 | 23.2% | -2.5% |
| 2019 | 22.4% | -3.4% |
| 2020 | 19.5% | -12.9% |
| 2022 | 18.9% | -3.1% |
| 2023 | 18.2% | -3.7% |
Vietnam compared with similar countries
- Vietnam's 18.2% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 10.5%, 1.7× the median. (27 countries reporting)
- Vietnam's 18.2% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 21.2%, 86% of the median. (13 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 61.3% | 61.3% | 61.3% | 1 |
| 1990s | 50.0% | 42.1% | 61.5% | 4 |
| 2000s | 34.0% | 29.3% | 42.9% | 9 |
| 2010s | 24.6% | 22.4% | 27.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 18.9% | 18.2% | 19.5% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Vietnam
More health data for Vietnam
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.66 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.0536 % change on previous year (2090)
- Un projection of annual infant deaths 3,132 (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 27 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -2.12 % 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 0.0322 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate -2.33 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per capita 0.0357 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of stunting, height for age in Vietnam?
- Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Vietnam was 18.2% in 2023, 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 Vietnam?
- The highest recorded value was 61.5% in 1993.
- What is the lowest prevalence of stunting, height for age recorded in Vietnam?
- The lowest recorded value was 18.2% in 2023.
- How does Vietnam rank for prevalence of stunting, height for age?
- Vietnam ranks 49th out of 97 countries with data for 2023.
- Is prevalence of stunting, height for age rising or falling in Vietnam?
- Over the last ten years it is down 29.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Vietnam 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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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.