Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Botswana
Botswana: Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female was 18.6% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Botswana, 2000–2024
Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Analysis
Botswana recorded 18.6% for prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of down 1.1% on the previous year and down 10.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Botswana peaked at 27.2% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 18.6%, in 2024.
Botswana ranks 53rd of 162 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Botswana, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 27.2% | — |
| 2001 | 27.1% | -0.4% |
| 2002 | 27.0% | -0.4% |
| 2003 | 26.8% | -0.7% |
| 2004 | 26.5% | -1.1% |
| 2005 | 26.3% | -0.8% |
| 2006 | 25.9% | -1.5% |
| 2007 | 25.3% | -2.3% |
| 2008 | 24.8% | -2.0% |
| 2009 | 24.2% | -2.4% |
| 2010 | 23.4% | -3.3% |
| 2011 | 22.6% | -3.4% |
| 2012 | 21.9% | -3.1% |
| 2013 | 21.1% | -3.7% |
| 2014 | 20.7% | -1.9% |
| 2015 | 20.3% | -1.9% |
| 2016 | 20.2% | -0.5% |
| 2017 | 20.0% | -1.0% |
| 2018 | 20.0% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 19.7% | -1.5% |
| 2020 | 19.4% | -1.5% |
| 2021 | 19.1% | -1.5% |
| 2022 | 18.9% | -1.0% |
| 2023 | 18.8% | -0.5% |
| 2024 | 18.6% | -1.1% |
Botswana compared with similar countries
- Botswana's 18.6% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 7.4%, 2.5× the median. (54 countries reporting)
- Botswana's 18.6% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 22.4%, 83% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 26.1% | 24.2% | 27.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 21.0% | 19.7% | 23.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 19.0% | 18.6% | 19.4% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Botswana
- 50 Haiti 20.0% compare
- 51 Mauritania 19.4% compare
- 52 Djibouti 18.9% compare
- 54 Côte d'Ivoire 18.3% compare
- 55 Viet Nam 17.9% compare
- 56 Burkina Faso 17.5% compare
More health data for Botswana
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.75 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.2265 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,150 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 281 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 0.6484 % 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 0.0579 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 0.9109 % 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 stunting, height for age, female in Botswana?
- Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Botswana was 18.6% in 2024, according to Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
- What is the highest prevalence of stunting, height for age, female recorded in Botswana?
- The highest recorded value was 27.2% in 2000.
- What is the lowest prevalence of stunting, height for age, female recorded in Botswana?
- The lowest recorded value was 18.6% in 2024.
- How does Botswana rank for prevalence of stunting, height for age, female?
- Botswana ranks 53rd out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of stunting, height for age, female rising or falling in Botswana?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Botswana data come from?
- The figures come from Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), published as part of Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female (modeled estimate, % of children under 5). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Prevalence of stunting, female, is the percentage of girls under age 5 whose height for age is more than two standard deviations below the median for the international reference population ages 0-59 months. For children up to two years old height is measured by recumbent length. For older children height is measured by stature while standing. The data are based on the WHO's 2006 Child Growth Standards.