Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Mauritania
Mauritania: Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female was 19.4% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Mauritania, 2000–2024
Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Analysis
Mauritania recorded 19.4% 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 0.5% on the previous year and down 12.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Mauritania peaked at 36.8% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 19.4%, in 2024.
That places Mauritania 51st out of 162 countries with data for 2024, putting it 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 Mauritania, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 36.8% | — |
| 2001 | 35.5% | -3.5% |
| 2002 | 34.1% | -3.9% |
| 2003 | 32.7% | -4.1% |
| 2004 | 31.3% | -4.3% |
| 2005 | 30.0% | -4.2% |
| 2006 | 28.7% | -4.3% |
| 2007 | 27.5% | -4.2% |
| 2008 | 26.4% | -4.0% |
| 2009 | 25.4% | -3.8% |
| 2010 | 24.5% | -3.5% |
| 2011 | 23.7% | -3.3% |
| 2012 | 23.1% | -2.5% |
| 2013 | 22.6% | -2.2% |
| 2014 | 22.2% | -1.8% |
| 2015 | 21.9% | -1.4% |
| 2016 | 21.6% | -1.4% |
| 2017 | 21.2% | -1.9% |
| 2018 | 20.7% | -2.4% |
| 2019 | 20.3% | -1.9% |
| 2020 | 19.9% | -2.0% |
| 2021 | 19.6% | -1.5% |
| 2022 | 19.5% | -0.5% |
| 2023 | 19.5% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 19.4% | -0.5% |
Mauritania compared with similar countries
- Mauritania's 19.4% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 19.1%, 1.0× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Mauritania's 19.4% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 22.4%, 87% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 30.8% | 25.4% | 36.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 22.2% | 20.3% | 24.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 19.6% | 19.4% | 19.9% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Mauritania
More health data for Mauritania
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -0.8878 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 1.19 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 653 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 1,563 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 1.77 % 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 0.077 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 1.77 % 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 Mauritania?
- Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Mauritania was 19.4% 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 Mauritania?
- The highest recorded value was 36.8% in 2000.
- What is the lowest prevalence of stunting, height for age, female recorded in Mauritania?
- The lowest recorded value was 19.4% in 2024.
- How does Mauritania rank for prevalence of stunting, height for age, female?
- Mauritania ranks 51st out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of stunting, height for age, female rising or falling in Mauritania?
- Over the last ten years it is down 12.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Mauritania 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.