Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Iran
Iran: Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female was 4.6% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Iran, 2000–2024
Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Analysis
The most recent figure for prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Iran is 4.6%, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.1% on the previous year and down 11.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Iran peaked at 14.2% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 4.6%, in 2021.
Iran ranks 129th of 162 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Iran, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 14.2% | — |
| 2001 | 12.8% | -9.9% |
| 2002 | 11.5% | -10.2% |
| 2003 | 10.4% | -9.6% |
| 2004 | 9.3% | -10.6% |
| 2005 | 8.4% | -9.7% |
| 2006 | 7.7% | -8.3% |
| 2007 | 7.1% | -7.8% |
| 2008 | 6.6% | -7.0% |
| 2009 | 6.2% | -6.1% |
| 2010 | 5.8% | -6.5% |
| 2011 | 5.6% | -3.4% |
| 2012 | 5.4% | -3.6% |
| 2013 | 5.3% | -1.9% |
| 2014 | 5.2% | -1.9% |
| 2015 | 5.2% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 5.1% | -1.9% |
| 2017 | 5.0% | -2.0% |
| 2018 | 4.9% | -2.0% |
| 2019 | 4.8% | -2.0% |
| 2020 | 4.7% | -2.1% |
| 2021 | 4.6% | -2.1% |
| 2022 | 4.7% | +2.2% |
| 2023 | 4.7% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 4.6% | -2.1% |
Iran compared with similar countries
- Iran's 4.6% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 7.4%, 62% of the median. (54 countries reporting)
- Iran's 4.6% is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 8.9%, 52% of the median. (21 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 9.4% | 6.2% | 14.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.2% | 4.8% | 5.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.7% | 4.6% | 4.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Iran
More health data for Iran
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.38 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate -0.5627 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,361 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 1,070 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -1.88 % 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 0.0311 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate -1.95 % 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 Iran?
- Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Iran was 4.6% 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 Iran?
- The highest recorded value was 14.2% in 2000.
- What is the lowest prevalence of stunting, height for age, female recorded in Iran?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.6% in 2021.
- How does Iran rank for prevalence of stunting, height for age, female?
- Iran ranks 129th out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of stunting, height for age, female rising or falling in Iran?
- Over the last ten years it is down 11.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Iran 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
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.