Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Laos
Laos: Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female was 28.4% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Laos, 2000–2024
Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Analysis
Laos recorded 28.4% for prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
The figure is down 1.4% on the previous year and down 23.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Laos peaked at 47.6% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 28.4%, in 2024.
That places Laos 25th out of 162 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Laos, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 47.6% | — |
| 2001 | 47.4% | -0.4% |
| 2002 | 47.2% | -0.4% |
| 2003 | 46.9% | -0.6% |
| 2004 | 46.5% | -0.9% |
| 2005 | 46.1% | -0.9% |
| 2006 | 45.5% | -1.3% |
| 2007 | 44.8% | -1.5% |
| 2008 | 43.8% | -2.2% |
| 2009 | 42.7% | -2.5% |
| 2010 | 41.5% | -2.8% |
| 2011 | 40.3% | -2.9% |
| 2012 | 39.2% | -2.7% |
| 2013 | 38.1% | -2.8% |
| 2014 | 37.0% | -2.9% |
| 2015 | 35.9% | -3.0% |
| 2016 | 34.7% | -3.3% |
| 2017 | 33.4% | -3.7% |
| 2018 | 32.2% | -3.6% |
| 2019 | 31.0% | -3.7% |
| 2020 | 30.1% | -2.9% |
| 2021 | 29.4% | -2.3% |
| 2022 | 29.1% | -1.0% |
| 2023 | 28.8% | -1.0% |
| 2024 | 28.4% | -1.4% |
Laos compared with similar countries
- Laos's 28.4% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 19.1%, 1.5× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Laos's 28.4% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 14.9%, 1.9× the median. (27 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 45.9% | 42.7% | 47.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 36.3% | 31.0% | 41.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 29.2% | 28.4% | 30.1% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Laos
- 22 Vanuatu 29.5% compare
- 23 Zambia 29.4% compare
- 24 Chad 29.3% compare
- 26 Marshall Islands 28.2% compare
- 27 Solomon Islands 28.1% compare
- 28 South Sudan 27.8% compare
More health data for Laos
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -2.76 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.5667 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,260 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 317 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 15 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -0.5161 % 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 0.0489 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate -0.5055 % 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 Laos?
- Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Laos was 28.4% 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 Laos?
- The highest recorded value was 47.6% in 2000.
- What is the lowest prevalence of stunting, height for age, female recorded in Laos?
- The lowest recorded value was 28.4% in 2024.
- How does Laos rank for prevalence of stunting, height for age, female?
- Laos ranks 25th out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of stunting, height for age, female rising or falling in Laos?
- Over the last ten years it is down 23.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Laos 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.