Malaysia vs Sub-Saharan Africa: Prevalence of wasting, weight for height

Malaysia
11.0%
in 2022
Sub-Saharan Africa
5.9%
in 2024
Malaysia rank
7th
Sub-Saharan Africa rank
7th

Prevalence of wasting, weight for height over time

  • Malaysia
  • Sub-Saharan Africa
051015199920112024

How they compare

Malaysia currently reports 11.0% against 5.9% in Sub-Saharan Africa, a difference of 5.1%.

That makes Malaysia's figure about 1.9 times Sub-Saharan Africa's.

Across all 5 years both countries report, Malaysia has been ahead every year.

Malaysia ranks 7th and Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 7th of 99 countries.

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

Head to head by decade

Decade Malaysia Sub-Saharan Africa Difference Ahead
2000s 13.2% 8.4% 4.8% Malaysia
2010s 9.8% 6.8% 3.0% Malaysia
2020s 11.0% 6.1% 4.9% Malaysia

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher prevalence of wasting, weight for height, Malaysia or Sub-Saharan Africa?
Malaysia, at 11.0% against 5.9% in Sub-Saharan Africa as of 2022.
What is the difference in prevalence of wasting, weight for height between Malaysia and Sub-Saharan Africa?
5.1%, with Malaysia ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Malaysia and Sub-Saharan Africa?
5 years are reported by both, from 2006 to 2022.
How do Malaysia and Sub-Saharan Africa rank globally for prevalence of wasting, weight for height?
Malaysia ranks 7th and Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 7th of 99 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 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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Malaysia vs Sub-Saharan Africa: Prevalence of 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 18 September 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/compare/prevalence-of-wasting-weight-for-height-percent-of-children-under-5/malaysia/sub-saharan-africa/

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<a href="https://health.statizoid.com/compare/prevalence-of-wasting-weight-for-height-percent-of-children-under-5/malaysia/sub-saharan-africa/">Malaysia vs Sub-Saharan Africa: Prevalence of wasting, weight for height</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Prevalence of 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
113 places, 1,312 data points, 1984–2024
Last refreshed

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