Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height (% of children) in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height (% of children) was 1.3% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height in Sub-Saharan Africa, 2000–2024
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 Sub-Saharan Africa is 1.3%, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 3.7% on the previous year and down 30.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 3.1% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 1.3%, in 2024.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height (% of children) in Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 3.1% | — |
| 2001 | 3.0% | -3.2% |
| 2002 | 2.9% | -3.7% |
| 2003 | 2.8% | -3.5% |
| 2004 | 2.7% | -3.6% |
| 2005 | 2.6% | -3.4% |
| 2006 | 2.5% | -3.5% |
| 2007 | 2.4% | -3.6% |
| 2008 | 2.3% | -3.3% |
| 2009 | 2.2% | -3.9% |
| 2010 | 2.2% | -3.1% |
| 2011 | 2.1% | -3.7% |
| 2012 | 2.0% | -3.4% |
| 2013 | 1.9% | -3.5% |
| 2014 | 1.9% | -3.6% |
| 2015 | 1.8% | -3.7% |
| 2016 | 1.7% | -3.3% |
| 2017 | 1.7% | -3.4% |
| 2018 | 1.6% | -3.6% |
| 2019 | 1.6% | -3.7% |
| 2020 | 1.5% | -3.8% |
| 2021 | 1.4% | -3.3% |
| 2022 | 1.4% | -3.4% |
| 2023 | 1.4% | -3.6% |
| 2024 | 1.3% | -3.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 2.6% | 2.2% | 3.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.8% | 1.6% | 2.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.4% | 1.3% | 1.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
More health data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Population ages 45-49, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 45-49, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 45-49, female, per capita 0.0195 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 45-49, male, annual growth rate 3.97 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 05-09, male, annual growth rate 1.57 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 50-54, female, annual growth rate 3.38 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 50-54, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 05-09, female, per capita 0.0662 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 05-09, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 45-49, male, per capita 0.0189 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height in Sub-Saharan Africa was 1.3% in 2024, 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 Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 3.1% in 2000.
- What is the lowest prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.3% in 2024.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 8th out of 14 groups with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of severe wasting, weight for height rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 30.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa 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.