South Africa vs Upper middle income: Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male
Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male over time
- South Africa
- Upper middle income
How they compare
South Africa currently reports 27.0% against 11.5% in Upper middle income, a difference of 15.5%.
That makes South Africa's figure about 2.3 times Upper middle income's.
Across all 25 years both countries report, South Africa has been ahead every year.
South Africa ranks 37th and Upper middle income ranks 35th of 162 countries.
South Africa has averaged higher in every one of the 3 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | South Africa | Upper middle income | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 28.4% | 19.4% | 9.0% | South Africa |
| 2010s | 24.8% | 12.9% | 11.9% | South Africa |
| 2020s | 26.0% | 11.2% | 14.9% | South Africa |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher prevalence of stunting, height for age, male, South Africa or Upper middle income?
- South Africa, at 27.0% against 11.5% in Upper middle income as of 2024.
- What is the difference in prevalence of stunting, height for age, male between South Africa and Upper middle income?
- 15.5%, with South Africa ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for South Africa and Upper middle income?
- 25 years are reported by both, from 2000 to 2024.
- How do South Africa and Upper middle income rank globally for prevalence of stunting, height for age, male?
- South Africa ranks 37th and Upper middle income ranks 35th of 162 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), published as Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male (modeled estimate, % of children under 5). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Prevalence of stunting, male, is the percentage of boys 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.