This counter reports how many processes are stalled waiting specifically for a free memory page to become available. A nonzero or growing count here is a stronger, more urgent memory-pressure signal than a low free-page count alone, since it means processes are actively blocked, not just running with a thin margin. For example, if several processes appear in this wait state at the same moment the system's free-page count elsewhere in the MIB hits zero, the admin has direct evidence the system has run out of free memory and processes are being held up as a result.