Child Malnutrition in India and China

In the early 1990s, India and China were home to more than half the preschool children in the developing world who were malnourished, as measured by being stunted or underweight. Since then, child malnutrition has declined in both countries but from different levels and at different paces. Notable differences also exist in the concentration of child malnutrition along the state/province, rural/urban, and female/male divides. This brief highlights the main differences in levels and trends for these dimensions, and considers the most likely explanations for the observed differences. Both countries can hopefully learn from each other’s experiences and thereby be able to design and implement more efficient policies for further alleviation of malnutrition.