Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height in Philippines

Philippines: Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height was 0.8% in 2021. ▼ Falling

Latest (2021)
0.8%
Change on year
down 11.1%
World rank
53rd
of 85 countries
All-time high
2.4%
in 2013
All-time low
0.8%
in 2021
Years of data
8
2003–2021

Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height in Philippines, 2003–2021

11.522.52003201220212003: 1.3 % of children under 52008: 1.7 % of children under 52011: 2 % of children under 52013: 2.4 % of children under 52015: 1.6 % of children under 52018: 0.9 % of children under 52019: 0.9 % of children under 52021: 0.8 % 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 in Philippines is 0.8%, measured in 2021. That is the lowest value across all 8 years on record.

That represents a change of down 11.1% on the previous year and down 60.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height in Philippines peaked at 2.4% in 2013 and was at its lowest, 0.8%, in 2021.

Philippines ranks 53rd of 85 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height in Philippines, year by year

Annual values for Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height (% of children under 5) in Philippines, 2003 to 2021.
Year % of children under 5 Change
2003 1.3%
2008 1.7% +30.8%
2011 2.0% +17.6%
2013 2.4% +20.0%
2015 1.6% -33.3%
2018 0.9% -43.8%
2019 0.9% +0.0%
2021 0.8% -11.1%

Philippines compared with similar countries

  • Philippines's 0.8% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.7%, 1.1× the median. (23 countries reporting)
  • Philippines's 0.8% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 1.0%, 80% of the median. (11 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 1.5% 1.3% 1.7% 2
2010s 1.6% 0.9% 2.4% 5
2020s 0.8% 0.8% 0.8% 1

Countries ranked near Philippines

  1. 53 Nepal 0.8% compare
  2. 53 Sri Lanka 0.8% compare
  3. 56 China 0.7% compare
  4. 56 El Salvador 0.7% compare
  5. 56 Malawi 0.7% compare
  6. 56 Mali 0.7% compare
  7. 56 Mozambique 0.7% compare
  8. 56 Nicaragua 0.7% compare

See the full ranking of 99 places →

More health data for Philippines

All data for Philippines →

Frequently asked questions

What is prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height in Philippines?
Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height in Philippines was 0.8% 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 recorded in Philippines?
The highest recorded value was 2.4% in 2013.
What is the lowest prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height recorded in Philippines?
The lowest recorded value was 0.8% in 2021.
How does Philippines rank for prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height?
Philippines ranks 53rd out of 85 countries with data for 2021.
Is prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height rising or falling in Philippines?
Over the last ten years it is down 60.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Philippines 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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Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height in Philippines. 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 14 September 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/prevalence-of-severe-wasting-weight-for-height-percent-of-children-under-5/philippines/

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About this data

Indicator
Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height (% 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
99 places, 1,131 data points, 1986–2024
Last refreshed

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.