Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, female in Pakistan

Pakistan: Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, female was 2.1% in 2018. ▼ Falling

Latest (2018)
2.1%
World rank
9th
of 84 countries
All-time high
5.5%
in 1992
All-time low
2.1%
in 2018
Years of data
6
1991–2018

Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, female in Pakistan, 1991–2018

02461991200420181991: 4 % of children under 51992: 5.5 % of children under 52001: 5.4 % of children under 52011: 5.4 % of children under 52013: 2.9 % of children under 52018: 2.1 % 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'. Measured in % of children under 5.

Analysis

The most recent figure for prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, female in Pakistan is 2.1%, measured in 2018. That is the lowest value across all 6 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 61.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, female in Pakistan peaked at 5.5% in 1992 and was at its lowest, 2.1%, in 2018.

Pakistan ranks 9th of 84 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, female in Pakistan, year by year

Annual values for Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, female (% of children under 5) in Pakistan, 1991 to 2018.
Year % of children under 5 Change
1991 4.0%
1992 5.5% +37.5%
2001 5.4% -1.8%
2011 5.4% +0.0%
2013 2.9% -46.3%
2018 2.1% -27.6%

Pakistan compared with similar countries

  • Pakistan's 2.1% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.9%, 2.2× the median. (34 countries reporting)
  • Pakistan's 2.1% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 1.0%, 2.1× the median. (11 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 4.8% 4.0% 5.5% 2
2000s 5.4% 5.4% 5.4% 1
2010s 3.5% 2.1% 5.4% 3

Countries ranked near Pakistan

  1. 6 Nigeria 2.6% compare
  2. 7 Sierra Leone 2.4% compare
  3. 8 Benin 2.2% compare
  4. 9 Mauritania 2.1% compare
  5. 11 Cambodia 2.0% compare
  6. 11 Russia 2.0% compare

See the full ranking of 84 places →

More health data for Pakistan

All data for Pakistan →

Frequently asked questions

What is prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, female in Pakistan?
Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, female in Pakistan was 2.1% in 2018, 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 Pakistan?
The highest recorded value was 5.5% in 1992.
What is the lowest prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, female recorded in Pakistan?
The lowest recorded value was 2.1% in 2018.
How does Pakistan rank for prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, female?
Pakistan ranks 9th out of 84 countries with data for 2018.
Is prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, female rising or falling in Pakistan?
Over the last ten years it is down 61.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Pakistan 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 — 6 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, female in Pakistan. 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/stat/prevalence-of-severe-wasting-weight-for-height-female-percent-of-children-under-5/pakistan/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://health.statizoid.com/stat/prevalence-of-severe-wasting-weight-for-height-female-percent-of-children-under-5/pakistan/">Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, female in Pakistan</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, female (% 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
84 places, 738 data points, 1986–2024
Last refreshed

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.