Which has higher prevalence of wasting, weight for height, Nigeria or Sub-Saharan Africa?

Nigeria, at 11.6% against 5.9% in Sub-Saharan Africa as of 2021.

How many years of comparable data are there for Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa?

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

Nigeria

11.6%

in 2021

Sub-Saharan Africa

5.9%

in 2024

Nigeria rank

5th

Sub-Saharan Africa rank

7th

Prevalence of wasting, weight for height over time

Nigeria
Sub-Saharan Africa

How they compare

Nigeria currently reports 11.6% against 5.9% in Sub-Saharan Africa, a difference of 5.7%.

That makes Nigeria's figure about 2.0 times Sub-Saharan Africa's.

Across all 8 years both countries report, Nigeria has been ahead every year.

Nigeria ranks 5th and Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 7th of 99 countries.

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

Head to head by decade

Decade	Nigeria	Sub-Saharan Africa	Difference	Ahead
2000s	11.2%	8.9%	2.3%	Nigeria
2010s	8.6%	7.0%	1.6%	Nigeria
2020s	9.1%	6.3%	2.8%	Nigeria

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher prevalence of wasting, weight for height, Nigeria or Sub-Saharan Africa?: Nigeria, at 11.6% against 5.9% in Sub-Saharan Africa as of 2021.
What is the difference in prevalence of wasting, weight for height between Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa?: 5.7%, with Nigeria ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa?: 8 years are reported by both, from 2003 to 2021.
How do Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa rank globally for prevalence of wasting, weight for height?: Nigeria ranks 5th 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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Nigeria 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/nigeria/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/nigeria/sub-saharan-africa/">Nigeria 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: 17 September 2026

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.