Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Zambia
Zambia: Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female was 29.4% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Zambia, 2000–2024
Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Analysis
In 2024, prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Zambia stood at 29.4%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.0% on the previous year and down 17.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Zambia peaked at 49.2% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 28.7%, in 2021.
Zambia ranks 23rd of 162 countries 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 Zambia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 49.2% | — |
| 2001 | 49.1% | -0.2% |
| 2002 | 48.8% | -0.6% |
| 2003 | 48.3% | -1.0% |
| 2004 | 47.6% | -1.4% |
| 2005 | 46.8% | -1.7% |
| 2006 | 45.8% | -2.1% |
| 2007 | 44.7% | -2.4% |
| 2008 | 43.4% | -2.9% |
| 2009 | 42.1% | -3.0% |
| 2010 | 40.6% | -3.6% |
| 2011 | 39.1% | -3.7% |
| 2012 | 37.8% | -3.3% |
| 2013 | 36.6% | -3.2% |
| 2014 | 35.6% | -2.7% |
| 2015 | 34.7% | -2.5% |
| 2016 | 33.5% | -3.5% |
| 2017 | 32.3% | -3.6% |
| 2018 | 31.0% | -4.0% |
| 2019 | 29.9% | -3.5% |
| 2020 | 29.1% | -2.7% |
| 2021 | 28.7% | -1.4% |
| 2022 | 28.9% | +0.7% |
| 2023 | 29.1% | +0.7% |
| 2024 | 29.4% | +1.0% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 29.4% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 19.1%, 1.5× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 29.4% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 22.4%, 1.3× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 46.6% | 42.1% | 49.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 35.1% | 29.9% | 40.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 29.0% | 28.7% | 29.4% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More health data for Zambia
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.09 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.7971 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 809.3 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 8,894 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 2 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 1.68 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.0743 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 1.69 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Zambia?
- Prevalence of stunting, height for age, female in Zambia was 29.4% 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 Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 49.2% in 2000.
- What is the lowest prevalence of stunting, height for age, female recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 28.7% in 2021.
- How does Zambia rank for prevalence of stunting, height for age, female?
- Zambia ranks 23rd out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of stunting, height for age, female rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 17.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Zambia 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.