Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, female (%) in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe: Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, female (%) was 0.3% in 2019. ◆ Volatile
Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, female in Zimbabwe, 1988–2019
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
Zimbabwe recorded 0.3% for prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, female in 2019. That is the lowest value across all 10 years on record.
The figure is down 50.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, female in Zimbabwe peaked at 3.9% in 1999 and was at its lowest, 0.3%, in 2019.
That places Zimbabwe 70th out of 84 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, female (%) in Zimbabwe, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 0.6% | — |
| 1994 | 1.5% | +150.0% |
| 1999 | 3.9% | +160.0% |
| 2005 | 2.8% | -28.2% |
| 2009 | 0.6% | -78.6% |
| 2010 | 0.7% | +16.7% |
| 2012 | 0.4% | -42.9% |
| 2014 | 0.6% | +50.0% |
| 2015 | 0.9% | +50.0% |
| 2019 | 0.3% | -66.7% |
Zimbabwe compared with similar countries
- Zimbabwe's 0.3% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.9%, 32% of the median. (34 countries reporting)
- Zimbabwe's 0.3% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.9%, 33% of the median. (32 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 1 |
| 1990s | 2.7% | 1.5% | 3.9% | 2 |
| 2000s | 1.7% | 0.6% | 2.8% | 2 |
| 2010s | 0.6% | 0.3% | 0.9% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Zimbabwe
More health data for Zimbabwe
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.39 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 1.11 % change on previous year (2090)
- Un projection of annual infant deaths 4,457 (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 2 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 0.9632 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.0689 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 0.9673 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per capita 0.0701 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, female in Zimbabwe?
- Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, female in Zimbabwe was 0.3% in 2019, 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 Zimbabwe?
- The highest recorded value was 3.9% in 1999.
- What is the lowest prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, female recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.3% in 2019.
- How does Zimbabwe rank for prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, female?
- Zimbabwe ranks 70th out of 84 countries with data for 2019.
- Is prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, female rising or falling in Zimbabwe?
- Over the last ten years it is down 50.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Zimbabwe 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 — 10 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.