How many years of comparable data are there for Nigeria and World?

8 years are reported by both, from 2003 to 2021.

Where does this data 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 Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height (% of children under 5). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Nigeria vs World: Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height

Nigeria

3.1%

in 2021

World

1.9%

in 2024

Nigeria rank

3rd

World rank

5th

Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height over time

Nigeria
World

How they compare

Nigeria currently reports 3.1% against 1.9% in World, a difference of 1.2%.

That makes Nigeria's figure about 1.6 times World's.

The two have swapped places 4 times across 8 shared years of data; in 2003 it was Nigeria ahead.

Nigeria ranks 3rd and World ranks 5th of 85 countries.

Nigeria has averaged higher in every one of the 3 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Nigeria	World	Difference	Ahead
2000s	4.7%	2.6%	2.1%	Nigeria
2010s	2.3%	2.1%	0.2%	Nigeria
2020s	2.2%	1.9%	0.3%	Nigeria

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, Nigeria or World?: Nigeria, at 3.1% against 1.9% in World as of 2021.
What is the difference in prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height between Nigeria and World?: 1.2%, with Nigeria ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Nigeria and World?: 8 years are reported by both, from 2003 to 2021.
How do Nigeria and World rank globally for prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height?: Nigeria ranks 3rd and World ranks 5th of 85 countries.
Where does this data 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 Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height (% of children under 5). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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Nigeria vs World: Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height. Statizoid, drawing on 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'. Retrieved 17 September 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/compare/prevalence-of-severe-wasting-weight-for-height-percent-of-children-under-5/nigeria/world/

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<a href="https://health.statizoid.com/compare/prevalence-of-severe-wasting-weight-for-height-percent-of-children-under-5/nigeria/world/">Nigeria vs World: Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator: Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height (% of children under 5)
Unit: % of children under 5
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'
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 99 places, 1,131 data points, 1986–2024
Last refreshed: 17 September 2026

Prevalence of severe wasting is the proportion of children under age 5 whose weight for height is more than three standard deviations below the median for the international reference population ages 0-59 months.