Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female was 46.2% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Papua New Guinea, 2000–2024
Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Analysis
The most recent figure for prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Papua New Guinea is 46.2%, measured in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.1% on the previous year and down 0.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Papua New Guinea peaked at 46.4% in 2013 and was at its lowest, 35.7%, in 2000.
That places Papua New Guinea 3rd out of 162 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 35.7% | — |
| 2001 | 36.7% | +2.8% |
| 2002 | 37.9% | +3.3% |
| 2003 | 39.1% | +3.2% |
| 2004 | 40.4% | +3.3% |
| 2005 | 41.7% | +3.2% |
| 2006 | 43.0% | +3.1% |
| 2007 | 44.0% | +2.3% |
| 2008 | 44.8% | +1.8% |
| 2009 | 45.4% | +1.3% |
| 2010 | 45.8% | +0.9% |
| 2011 | 46.0% | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 46.2% | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 46.4% | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 46.3% | -0.2% |
| 2015 | 46.3% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 46.1% | -0.4% |
| 2017 | 45.8% | -0.7% |
| 2018 | 45.5% | -0.7% |
| 2019 | 45.2% | -0.7% |
| 2020 | 45.1% | -0.2% |
| 2021 | 45.2% | +0.2% |
| 2022 | 45.5% | +0.7% |
| 2023 | 45.7% | +0.4% |
| 2024 | 46.2% | +1.1% |
Papua New Guinea compared with similar countries
- Papua New Guinea's 46.2% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 19.1%, 2.4× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Papua New Guinea's 46.2% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 14.9%, 3.1× the median. (27 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 40.9% | 35.7% | 45.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 46.0% | 45.2% | 46.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 45.5% | 45.1% | 46.2% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea
More health data for Papua New Guinea
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.77 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.3741 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,127 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 2,501 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 2 (2023)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 0.27 % 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 0.0555 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 0.2621 % 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 Papua New Guinea?
- Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Papua New Guinea was 46.2% 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 Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 46.4% in 2013.
- What is the lowest prevalence of stunting, height for age, female recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 35.7% in 2000.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for prevalence of stunting, height for age, female?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 3rd out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of stunting, height for age, female rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Papua New Guinea 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.