Viet Nam: Prevalence of stunting, height for age (% of children under 5)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2023, Viet Nam's prevalence of stunting, height for age (% of children under 5) fell 0.7 percentage points on 2022 (from 18.9% to 18.2%).

Across the 21 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2022), the average change was −1.25 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.68 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 4.8 percentage points in 2011 and the biggest yearly fall was 9 percentage points in 1994. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2014 to 2023 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.82 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 93% of the movement over 9 observed years.

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

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about 16.08% for 2026. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2020 to 2023 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 2.7%, against 3.53% for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

Closest to Viet Nam in the 2023 ranking

• Indonesia — 1st of 8: 22%
• Senegal — 3rd of 8: 17.5%
• Tajikistan — 4th of 8: 13.7%
• Peru — 5th of 8: 11.5%

What this measures

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.

Limitations: Survey estimates come with levels of uncertainty due to both sampling error and non-sampling error (e.g., measurement technical error, recording error etc.,). None of the two sources of errors have been fully taken into account for deriving estimates neither at country nor at regional or worldwide levels.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a see sh.sta.stnt.me.zs for aggregation.

All 27 values

Prevalence of stunting, height for age (% of children under 5) in nearby economies

• China — 4.8% (2017)
• Indonesia — 22% (2023)
• Mongolia — 8.8% (2023)
• Philippines — 26.7% (2021)

More health data for Viet Nam

• Population ages 00-04, female (% of female population) — 6.32% (2025)
• Population ages 00-04, male (% of male population) — 7.28% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female — 11.22 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) — 21.63% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male — 12.01 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) — 24.13% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, total — 23.22 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) — 22.86% (2025)
• Population ages 05-09, female (% of female population) — 7.11% (2025)

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 Viet Nam's prevalence of stunting, height for age (% of children under 5)?

18.2% in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1988?

It is down 43.1 percentage points from 61.3% in 1988. The highest value was 61.5% in 1993 and the lowest 18.2% in 2023.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SH.STA.STNT.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original 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's Fund (UNICEF), note: Aggregation is based on UNICEF, WHO, and the World Bank harmonized dataset (a… 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.

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