Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female was 9.7% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Costa Rica, 2000–2024
Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Analysis
Costa Rica recorded 9.7% for prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
The figure is up 5.4% on the previous year and up 51.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Costa Rica peaked at 9.7% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 5.7%, in 2005.
That places Costa Rica 87th out of 162 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 6.3% | — |
| 2001 | 6.2% | -1.6% |
| 2002 | 6.1% | -1.6% |
| 2003 | 6.0% | -1.6% |
| 2004 | 5.8% | -3.3% |
| 2005 | 5.7% | -1.7% |
| 2006 | 5.7% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 5.7% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 5.7% | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 5.7% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 5.8% | +1.8% |
| 2011 | 5.9% | +1.7% |
| 2012 | 6.0% | +1.7% |
| 2013 | 6.2% | +3.3% |
| 2014 | 6.4% | +3.2% |
| 2015 | 6.7% | +4.7% |
| 2016 | 7.0% | +4.5% |
| 2017 | 7.2% | +2.9% |
| 2018 | 7.4% | +2.8% |
| 2019 | 7.6% | +2.7% |
| 2020 | 7.9% | +3.9% |
| 2021 | 8.3% | +5.1% |
| 2022 | 8.8% | +6.0% |
| 2023 | 9.2% | +4.5% |
| 2024 | 9.7% | +5.4% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 9.7% is above the median for high income countries, which is 3.1%, 3.1× the median. (37 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 9.7% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 8.5%, 1.1× the median. (27 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5.9% | 5.7% | 6.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.6% | 5.8% | 7.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.8% | 7.9% | 9.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
- 85 Kyrgyzstan 10.3% compare
- 86 Saudi Arabia 9.9% compare
- 87 Argentina 9.7% compare
- 87 Bolivia 9.7% compare
- 87 Sri Lanka 9.7% compare
More health data for Costa Rica
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -2.78 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.4617 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,632 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 35 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -3.42 % 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 0.0248 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate -3.37 % 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 Costa Rica?
- Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Costa Rica was 9.7% 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 Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 9.7% in 2024.
- What is the lowest prevalence of stunting, height for age, female recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.7% in 2005.
- How does Costa Rica rank for prevalence of stunting, height for age, female?
- Costa Rica ranks 87th out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of stunting, height for age, female rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 51.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica 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.