Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, female in Nigeria
Nigeria: Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, female was 2.6% in 2021. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, female in Nigeria, 1990–2021
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'. Measured in % of children under 5.
Analysis
Nigeria recorded 2.6% for prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, female in 2021.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 188.9% on the previous year and down 3.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, female in Nigeria peaked at 4.2% in 1990 and was at its lowest, 0.9%, in 2020.
Nigeria ranks 6th of 84 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, female in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 4.2% | — |
| 2003 | 4.2% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 2.7% | -35.7% |
| 2014 | 1.6% | -40.7% |
| 2015 | 1.5% | -6.3% |
| 2016 | 2.5% | +66.7% |
| 2018 | 1.4% | -44.0% |
| 2020 | 0.9% | -35.7% |
| 2021 | 2.6% | +188.9% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 2.6% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.9%, 2.7× the median. (34 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 2.6% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.9%, 2.9× the median. (32 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 4.2% | 4.2% | 4.2% | 1 |
| 2000s | 4.2% | 4.2% | 4.2% | 1 |
| 2010s | 1.9% | 1.4% | 2.7% | 5 |
| 2020s | 1.8% | 0.9% | 2.6% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
More health data for Nigeria
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.08 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.8137 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,301 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 257,921 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 14 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 1.14 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.0711 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 1.17 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, female in Nigeria?
- Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, female in Nigeria was 2.6% in 2021, according to 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'.
- What is the highest prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, female recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 4.2% in 1990.
- What is the lowest prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, female recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.9% in 2020.
- How does Nigeria rank for prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, female?
- Nigeria ranks 6th out of 84 countries with data for 2021.
- Is prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, female rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Nigeria data come from?
- The figures 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 part of Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, female (% of children under 5). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 9 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Prevalence of severe wasting, female, is the proportion of girls 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.