Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)
Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income): Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female was 29.8% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income), 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 Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) is 29.8%, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of up 0.5% on the previous year and down 7.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) peaked at 40.7% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 29.5%, in 2021.
Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) ranks 9th of 45 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income), year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 40.7% | — |
| 2001 | 40.4% | -0.7% |
| 2002 | 40.1% | -0.7% |
| 2003 | 39.8% | -0.9% |
| 2004 | 39.3% | -1.2% |
| 2005 | 38.8% | -1.2% |
| 2006 | 38.2% | -1.4% |
| 2007 | 37.5% | -1.9% |
| 2008 | 36.7% | -2.1% |
| 2009 | 35.9% | -2.3% |
| 2010 | 35.0% | -2.4% |
| 2011 | 34.2% | -2.3% |
| 2012 | 33.5% | -2.1% |
| 2013 | 32.9% | -1.7% |
| 2014 | 32.4% | -1.5% |
| 2015 | 31.9% | -1.5% |
| 2016 | 31.4% | -1.5% |
| 2017 | 30.9% | -1.6% |
| 2018 | 30.4% | -1.6% |
| 2019 | 30.0% | -1.5% |
| 2020 | 29.6% | -1.2% |
| 2021 | 29.5% | -0.5% |
| 2022 | 29.6% | +0.5% |
| 2023 | 29.7% | +0.3% |
| 2024 | 29.8% | +0.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 38.7% | 35.9% | 40.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 32.3% | 30.0% | 35.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 29.6% | 29.5% | 29.8% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)
- 6 Eritrea 44.7% compare
- 7 East Timor 43.8% compare
- 8 Guatemala 41.9% compare
- 9 Afghanistan 41.4% compare
- 10 Democratic Republic of Congo 41.1% compare
- 11 Central African Republic 36.3% compare
- 12 Madagascar 35.7% compare
More health data for Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)
- Population ages 50-54, male, annual growth rate 3.53 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 55-59, male, annual growth rate 3.59 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 55-59, female, per capita 0.0125 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 55-59, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 10-14, male, per capita 0.0617 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 55-59, female, annual growth rate 3.3 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 50-54, male, per capita 0.0147 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 50-54, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 15-19, female, annual growth rate 2.62 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 15-19, female, per capita 0.054 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
- Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) was 29.8% 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 Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
- The highest recorded value was 40.7% in 2000.
- What is the lowest prevalence of stunting, height for age, female recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
- The lowest recorded value was 29.5% in 2021.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) rank for prevalence of stunting, height for age, female?
- Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) ranks 9th out of 45 groups with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of stunting, height for age, female rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa (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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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.