Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height in Bangladesh
Bangladesh: Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height was 1.7% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height in Bangladesh, 1991–2022
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 1.7% for prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height in 2022.
The figure is down 26.1% on the previous year and down 15.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height in Bangladesh peaked at 6.8% in 1997 and was at its lowest, 1.5%, in 2018.
Bangladesh ranks 20th of 85 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height in Bangladesh, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 2.6% | — |
| 1992 | 3.0% | +15.4% |
| 1993 | 2.5% | -16.7% |
| 1994 | 3.2% | +28.0% |
| 1995 | 2.7% | -15.6% |
| 1996 | 2.8% | +3.7% |
| 1997 | 6.8% | +142.9% |
| 1998 | 2.3% | -66.2% |
| 1999 | 2.0% | -13.0% |
| 2000 | 2.5% | +25.0% |
| 2001 | 2.3% | -8.0% |
| 2002 | 2.1% | -8.7% |
| 2003 | 2.1% | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 3.5% | +66.7% |
| 2005 | 2.9% | -17.1% |
| 2006 | 1.6% | -44.8% |
| 2007 | 2.9% | +81.2% |
| 2011 | 4.1% | +41.4% |
| 2012 | 2.0% | -51.2% |
| 2013 | 1.6% | -20.0% |
| 2014 | 3.2% | +100.0% |
| 2015 | 2.0% | -37.5% |
| 2018 | 1.5% | -25.0% |
| 2019 | 2.3% | +53.3% |
| 2022 | 1.7% | -26.1% |
Bangladesh compared with similar countries
- Bangladesh's 1.7% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 1.3%, 1.3× the median. (34 countries reporting)
- Bangladesh's 1.7% is above the median for South Asia, which is 1.7%, 1.0× the median. (5 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 3.1% | 2.0% | 6.8% | 9 |
| 2000s | 2.5% | 1.6% | 3.5% | 8 |
| 2010s | 2.4% | 1.5% | 4.1% | 7 |
| 2020s | 1.7% | 1.7% | 1.7% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Bangladesh
More health data for Bangladesh
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -2.36 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 1.15 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,153 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 4,062 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 35 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 0.8772 % 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 0.0468 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 0.7714 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height in Bangladesh?
- Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height in Bangladesh was 1.7% 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 recorded in Bangladesh?
- The highest recorded value was 6.8% in 1997.
- What is the lowest prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height recorded in Bangladesh?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.5% in 2018.
- How does Bangladesh rank for prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height?
- Bangladesh ranks 20th out of 85 countries with data for 2022.
- Is prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height rising or falling in Bangladesh?
- Over the last ten years it is down 15.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- 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 (% of children under 5). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Prevalence of severe wasting is the proportion of children 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.