Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Malaysia
Malaysia: Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female was 22.9% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Malaysia, 2000–2024
Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Analysis
Malaysia recorded 22.9% for prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.7% on the previous year and up 29.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Malaysia peaked at 22.9% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 16.6%, in 2010.
Malaysia ranks 39th of 162 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 18.0% | — |
| 2001 | 17.6% | -2.2% |
| 2002 | 17.3% | -1.7% |
| 2003 | 17.2% | -0.6% |
| 2004 | 17.1% | -0.6% |
| 2005 | 17.1% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 17.0% | -0.6% |
| 2007 | 16.9% | -0.6% |
| 2008 | 16.8% | -0.6% |
| 2009 | 16.7% | -0.6% |
| 2010 | 16.6% | -0.6% |
| 2011 | 16.7% | +0.6% |
| 2012 | 16.9% | +1.2% |
| 2013 | 17.3% | +2.4% |
| 2014 | 17.7% | +2.3% |
| 2015 | 18.2% | +2.8% |
| 2016 | 18.7% | +2.7% |
| 2017 | 19.2% | +2.7% |
| 2018 | 19.5% | +1.6% |
| 2019 | 19.9% | +2.1% |
| 2020 | 20.3% | +2.0% |
| 2021 | 20.9% | +3.0% |
| 2022 | 21.6% | +3.3% |
| 2023 | 22.3% | +3.2% |
| 2024 | 22.9% | +2.7% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 22.9% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 7.4%, 3.1× the median. (54 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 22.9% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 14.9%, 1.5× the median. (27 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 17.2% | 16.7% | 18.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 18.1% | 16.6% | 19.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 21.6% | 20.3% | 22.9% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
More health data for Malaysia
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -0.9119 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.2888 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,250 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 652 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 18 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -0.7207 % 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 0.0297 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate -0.5991 % 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 Malaysia?
- Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Malaysia was 22.9% 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 Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 22.9% in 2024.
- What is the lowest prevalence of stunting, height for age, female recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.6% in 2010.
- How does Malaysia rank for prevalence of stunting, height for age, female?
- Malaysia ranks 39th out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of stunting, height for age, female rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 29.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malaysia 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
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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.