Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, male in Bangladesh

Bangladesh: Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, male was 1.6% in 2022. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2022)
1.6%
Change on year
down 36.0%
World rank
27th
of 84 countries
All-time high
7.8%
in 1997
All-time low
1.6%
in 2018
Years of data
13
1997–2022

Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, male in Bangladesh, 1997–2022

24681997200920221997: 7.8 % of children under 52000: 2.4 % of children under 52004: 3.7 % of children under 52005: 3.3 % of children under 52007: 3.3 % of children under 52011: 4.3 % of children under 52012: 2 % of children under 52013: 2.1 % of children under 52014: 3.9 % of children under 52015: 2 % of children under 52018: 1.6 % of children under 52019: 2.5 % of children under 52022: 1.6 % 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

Bangladesh recorded 1.6% for prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, male in 2022. That is the lowest value across all 13 years on record.

The figure is down 36.0% on the previous year and down 20.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, male in Bangladesh peaked at 7.8% in 1997 and was at its lowest, 1.6%, in 2018.

That places Bangladesh 27th out of 84 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, male in Bangladesh, year by year

Annual values for Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, male (% of children under 5) in Bangladesh, 1997 to 2022.
Year % of children under 5 Change
1997 7.8%
2000 2.4% -69.2%
2004 3.7% +54.2%
2005 3.3% -10.8%
2007 3.3% +0.0%
2011 4.3% +30.3%
2012 2.0% -53.5%
2013 2.1% +5.0%
2014 3.9% +85.7%
2015 2.0% -48.7%
2018 1.6% -20.0%
2019 2.5% +56.2%
2022 1.6% -36.0%

Bangladesh compared with similar countries

  • Bangladesh's 1.6% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 1.4%, 1.1× the median. (34 countries reporting)
  • Bangladesh's 1.6% is below the median for South Asia, which is 2.2%, 73% of the median. (5 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 7.8% 7.8% 7.8% 1
2000s 3.2% 2.4% 3.7% 4
2010s 2.6% 1.6% 4.3% 7
2020s 1.6% 1.6% 1.6% 1

Countries ranked near Bangladesh

  1. 25 Central African Republic 1.7% compare
  2. 25 Guinea-Bissau 1.7% compare
  3. 27 Armenia 1.6% compare
  4. 27 Cameroon 1.6% compare
  5. 27 Ethiopia 1.6% compare
  6. 27 Zambia 1.6% compare

See the full ranking of 84 places →

More health data for Bangladesh

All data for Bangladesh →

Frequently asked questions

What is prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, male in Bangladesh?
Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, male in Bangladesh was 1.6% in 2022, 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, male recorded in Bangladesh?
The highest recorded value was 7.8% in 1997.
What is the lowest prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, male recorded in Bangladesh?
The lowest recorded value was 1.6% in 2018.
How does Bangladesh rank for prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, male?
Bangladesh ranks 27th out of 84 countries with data for 2022.
Is prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, male rising or falling in Bangladesh?
Over the last ten years it is down 20.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Bangladesh 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, male (% of children under 5). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 13 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, male in Bangladesh. 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/stat/prevalence-of-severe-wasting-weight-for-height-male-percent-of-children-under-5/bangladesh/

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-male-percent-of-children-under-5/bangladesh/">Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, male in Bangladesh</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height, male (% 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, male, is the proportion of boys 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.