Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male in Colombia

Colombia: Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male was 12.6% in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
12.6%
Change on year
up 1.6%
World rank
83rd
of 162 countries
All-time high
18.9%
in 2000
All-time low
12.2%
in 2020
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male in Colombia, 2000–2024

051015202000201220242000: 18.92001: 18.62002: 18.42003: 18.12004: 17.72005: 17.22006: 16.72007: 16.12008: 15.42009: 14.92010: 14.42011: 14.12012: 13.92013: 13.72014: 13.62015: 13.42016: 13.22017: 12.92018: 12.62019: 12.42020: 12.22021: 12.22022: 12.32023: 12.42024: 12.6

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for prevalence of stunting, height for age, male in Colombia is 12.6%, measured in 2024.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.6% on the previous year and down 7.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, prevalence of stunting, height for age, male in Colombia peaked at 18.9% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 12.2%, in 2020.

That places Colombia 83rd out of 162 countries 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, male in Colombia, year by year

Annual values for Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male (modeled estimate, % of children under 5) in Colombia, 2000 to 2024.
Year Value Change
2000 18.9%
2001 18.6% -1.6%
2002 18.4% -1.1%
2003 18.1% -1.6%
2004 17.7% -2.2%
2005 17.2% -2.8%
2006 16.7% -2.9%
2007 16.1% -3.6%
2008 15.4% -4.3%
2009 14.9% -3.2%
2010 14.4% -3.4%
2011 14.1% -2.1%
2012 13.9% -1.4%
2013 13.7% -1.4%
2014 13.6% -0.7%
2015 13.4% -1.5%
2016 13.2% -1.5%
2017 12.9% -2.3%
2018 12.6% -2.3%
2019 12.4% -1.6%
2020 12.2% -1.6%
2021 12.2% +0.0%
2022 12.3% +0.8%
2023 12.4% +0.8%
2024 12.6% +1.6%

Colombia compared with similar countries

  • Colombia's 12.6% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 8.7%, 1.4× the median. (54 countries reporting)
  • Colombia's 12.6% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 10.3%, 1.2× the median. (27 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 17.2% 14.9% 18.9% 10
2010s 13.4% 12.4% 14.4% 10
2020s 12.3% 12.2% 12.6% 5

Countries ranked near Colombia

  1. 80 Thailand 13.1% compare
  2. 81 Belize 12.8% compare
  3. 82 Venezuela 12.7% compare
  4. 84 Saudi Arabia 12.4% compare
  5. 84 Ukraine 12.4% compare
  6. 86 Bolivia 11.8% compare

See the full ranking of 207 places →

More health data for Colombia

All data for Colombia →

Frequently asked questions

What is prevalence of stunting, height for age, male in Colombia?
Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male in Colombia was 12.6% in 2024, according to Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
What is the highest prevalence of stunting, height for age, male recorded in Colombia?
The highest recorded value was 18.9% in 2000.
What is the lowest prevalence of stunting, height for age, male recorded in Colombia?
The lowest recorded value was 12.2% in 2020.
How does Colombia rank for prevalence of stunting, height for age, male?
Colombia ranks 83rd out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
Is prevalence of stunting, height for age, male rising or falling in Colombia?
Over the last ten years it is down 7.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Colombia 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, male (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).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male in Colombia. 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-male-modeled-estimate-percent-of-children-under-5/colombia/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://health.statizoid.com/stat/prevalence-of-stunting-height-for-age-male-modeled-estimate-percent-of-children-under-5/colombia/">Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male in Colombia</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male (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, male, is the percentage of boys 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.