Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)

Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income): Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female was 24.3% in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
24.3%
Change on year
up 0.6%
Rank
18th
of 45 groups
All-time high
33.4%
in 2004
All-time low
24.2%
in 2022
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income), 2000–2024

01020302000201220242000: 332001: 33.12002: 33.22003: 33.42004: 33.42005: 33.32006: 33.22007: 332008: 32.72009: 32.22010: 31.72011: 312012: 30.32013: 29.52014: 28.72015: 27.92016: 27.12017: 26.32018: 25.62019: 24.92020: 24.52021: 24.22022: 24.22023: 24.22024: 24.3

Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Analysis

In 2024, prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) stood at 24.3%.

That represents a change of up 0.6% on the previous year and down 15.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) peaked at 33.4% in 2004 and was at its lowest, 24.2%, in 2022.

Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) ranks 18th of 45 groups on this measure, 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 Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income), year by year

Annual values for Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female (modeled estimate, % of children under 5) in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income), 2000 to 2024.
Year Value Change
2000 33.0%
2001 33.1% +0.1%
2002 33.2% +0.5%
2003 33.4% +0.4%
2004 33.4% +0.0%
2005 33.3% -0.2%
2006 33.2% -0.3%
2007 33.0% -0.7%
2008 32.7% -1.0%
2009 32.2% -1.4%
2010 31.7% -1.7%
2011 31.0% -2.0%
2012 30.3% -2.4%
2013 29.5% -2.7%
2014 28.7% -2.6%
2015 27.9% -2.7%
2016 27.1% -2.9%
2017 26.3% -2.9%
2018 25.6% -2.9%
2019 24.9% -2.6%
2020 24.5% -1.8%
2021 24.2% -1.2%
2022 24.2% -0.0%
2023 24.2% +0.1%
2024 24.3% +0.6%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 33.0% 32.2% 33.4% 10
2010s 28.3% 24.9% 31.7% 10
2020s 24.2% 24.2% 24.5% 5

Countries ranked near Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)

  1. 15 Ethiopia 33.0% compare
  2. 16 Pakistan 32.6% compare
  3. 17 India 31.8% compare
  4. 18 Lesotho 31.7% compare
  5. 19 Nigeria 31.4% compare
  6. 20 Benin 30.4% compare
  7. 21 Malawi 30.2% compare

See the full ranking of 207 places →

More health data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)

All data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) →

Frequently asked questions

What is prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)?
Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) was 24.3% 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 Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)?
The highest recorded value was 33.4% in 2004.
What is the lowest prevalence of stunting, height for age, female recorded in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)?
The lowest recorded value was 24.2% in 2022.
How does Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) rank for prevalence of stunting, height for age, female?
Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) ranks 18th out of 45 groups with data for 2024.
Is prevalence of stunting, height for age, female rising or falling in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)?
Over the last ten years it is down 15.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) 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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Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income). Statizoid, drawing on Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF). Retrieved 18 September 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/prevalence-of-stunting-height-for-age-female-modeled-estimate-percent-of-children-under-5/middle-east-north-africa-afghanistan-and-pakistan-excluding-high-income/

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About this data

Indicator
Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female (modeled estimate, % of children under 5)
Source
Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
207 places, 5,161 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

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.