Korea, Dem. People's Rep.: Prevalence of undernourishment (% of population)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2018, Korea, Dem. People's Rep.'s prevalence of undernourishment (% of population) fell 0.5 percentage points on 2017 (from 47.5% to 47%).

Across the 16 yearly changes before that (2002 to 2017), the average change was +0.73 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.13 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.1 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 2.5 percentage points in 2006 and the biggest yearly fall was 2.3 percentage points in 2003. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2009 to 2018 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.58 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 95% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

What this measures

Prevalence of undernourishment is the percentage of the population whose habitual food consumption is insufficient to provide the dietary energy levels that are required to maintain a normal active and healthy life. Data showing as 2.5 may signify a prevalence of undernourishment below 2.5%.

Limitations: The prevalence of undernourishment is a model-based estimate, and its reliability depends on the quality of the data used to estimate the model parameters. Measurement errors may affect estimates of dietary energy consumption derived from household surveys and Food Balance Sheets. Because of the probabilistic nature of the estimation and uncertainty associated with the model parameters, the precision of PoU estimates is generally low. National-level PoU point estimates are available only when they exceed 2.5 percent.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 18 values

Prevalence of undernourishment (% of population) in nearby economies

• Australia — 2.5% (2024)
• Cambodia — 4.7% (2024)
• China — 2.5% (2024)
• Fiji — 7.2% (2024)
• French Polynesia — 2.6% (2024)
• Indonesia — 6.3% (2024)
• Japan — 2.5% (2024)
• Kiribati — 3.8% (2024)
• Korea, Rep. — 2.5% (2024)
• Lao PDR

More health data for Korea, Dem. People's Rep.

• Population ages 00-04, female (% of female population) — 6.13% (2025)
• Population ages 00-04, male (% of male population) — 6.61% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female — 2.45 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) — 18.24% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male — 2.58 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) — 19.63% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, total — 5.03 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) — 18.93% (2025)
• Population ages 05-09, female (% of female population)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Korea, Dem. People's Rep.'s prevalence of undernourishment (% of population)?

47% in 2018, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2001?

It is up 11.1 percentage points from 35.9% in 2001. The highest value was 47.5% in 2017 and the lowest 32.9% in 2003.

Is the latest change in prevalence of undernourishment (% of population) unusual for Korea, Dem. People's Rep.?

In 2018, Korea, Dem. People's Rep.'s prevalence of undernourishment (% of population) fell 0.5 percentage points on 2017 (from 47.5% to 47%). Across the 16 yearly changes before that (2002 to 2017), the average change was +0.73 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.13 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.1 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SN.ITK.DEFC.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), uri: http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#home Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.