Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan

Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan: Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female was 23.3% in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
23.3%
Change on year
up 0.6%
Rank
21st
of 45 groups
All-time high
32.0%
in 2003
All-time low
23.2%
in 2022
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, 2000–2024

01020302000201220242000: 31.62001: 31.72002: 31.92003: 322004: 322005: 31.92006: 31.82007: 31.62008: 31.32009: 30.92010: 30.42011: 29.72012: 292013: 28.32014: 27.52015: 26.82016: 262017: 25.22018: 24.52019: 23.92020: 23.42021: 23.22022: 23.22023: 23.22024: 23.3

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 stood at 23.3%.

The figure is up 0.6% on the previous year and down 15.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan peaked at 32.0% in 2003 and was at its lowest, 23.2%, in 2022.

That places Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan 21st out of 45 groups 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 Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, 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, 2000 to 2024.
Year Value Change
2000 31.6%
2001 31.7% +0.3%
2002 31.9% +0.5%
2003 32.0% +0.4%
2004 32.0% -0.0%
2005 31.9% -0.2%
2006 31.8% -0.3%
2007 31.6% -0.7%
2008 31.3% -1.0%
2009 30.9% -1.3%
2010 30.4% -1.7%
2011 29.7% -2.1%
2012 29.0% -2.3%
2013 28.3% -2.5%
2014 27.5% -2.7%
2015 26.8% -2.7%
2016 26.0% -2.9%
2017 25.2% -3.0%
2018 24.5% -3.0%
2019 23.9% -2.5%
2020 23.4% -1.8%
2021 23.2% -1.1%
2022 23.2% -0.1%
2023 23.2% +0.1%
2024 23.3% +0.6%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 31.7% 30.9% 32.0% 10
2010s 27.1% 23.9% 30.4% 10
2020s 23.3% 23.2% 23.4% 5

Countries ranked near Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan

  1. 18 Lesotho 31.7% compare
  2. 19 Nigeria 31.4% compare
  3. 20 Benin 30.4% compare
  4. 21 Malawi 30.2% compare
  5. 22 Vanuatu 29.5% compare
  6. 23 Zambia 29.4% compare
  7. 24 Chad 29.3% compare

See the full ranking of 207 places →

More health data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan

All data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan →

Frequently asked questions

What is prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan?
Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan was 23.3% 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?
The highest recorded value was 32.0% in 2003.
What is the lowest prevalence of stunting, height for age, female recorded in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan?
The lowest recorded value was 23.2% in 2022.
How does Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan rank for prevalence of stunting, height for age, female?
Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan ranks 21st 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?
Over the last ten years it is down 15.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan 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. Statizoid, drawing on Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF). Retrieved 19 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/

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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.