Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male in Malaysia

Malaysia: Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male was 25.7% in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
25.7%
Change on year
up 2.8%
World rank
42nd
of 162 countries
All-time high
25.7%
in 2024
All-time low
18.9%
in 2010
Years of data
25
2000–2024

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

01020302000201220242000: 20.52001: 20.12002: 19.82003: 19.62004: 19.52005: 19.52006: 19.42007: 19.32008: 19.22009: 192010: 18.92011: 192012: 19.22013: 19.62014: 20.12015: 20.72016: 21.22017: 21.72018: 22.12019: 22.52020: 22.92021: 23.52022: 24.32023: 252024: 25.7

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

Analysis

Malaysia recorded 25.7% for prevalence of stunting, height for age, male in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.8% on the previous year and up 27.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, prevalence of stunting, height for age, male in Malaysia peaked at 25.7% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 18.9%, in 2010.

Malaysia ranks 42nd of 162 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.

Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male in Malaysia, year by year

Annual values for Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male (modeled estimate, % of children under 5) in Malaysia, 2000 to 2024.
Year Value Change
2000 20.5%
2001 20.1% -2.0%
2002 19.8% -1.5%
2003 19.6% -1.0%
2004 19.5% -0.5%
2005 19.5% +0.0%
2006 19.4% -0.5%
2007 19.3% -0.5%
2008 19.2% -0.5%
2009 19.0% -1.0%
2010 18.9% -0.5%
2011 19.0% +0.5%
2012 19.2% +1.1%
2013 19.6% +2.1%
2014 20.1% +2.6%
2015 20.7% +3.0%
2016 21.2% +2.4%
2017 21.7% +2.4%
2018 22.1% +1.8%
2019 22.5% +1.8%
2020 22.9% +1.8%
2021 23.5% +2.6%
2022 24.3% +3.4%
2023 25.0% +2.9%
2024 25.7% +2.8%

Malaysia compared with similar countries

  • Malaysia's 25.7% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 8.7%, 3.0× the median. (54 countries reporting)
  • Malaysia's 25.7% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 17.1%, 1.5× the median. (27 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 19.6% 19.0% 20.5% 10
2010s 20.5% 18.9% 22.5% 10
2020s 24.3% 22.9% 25.7% 5

Countries ranked near Malaysia

  1. 39 Zimbabwe 26.1% compare
  2. 40 Myanmar 25.8% compare
  3. 40 Uganda 25.8% compare
  4. 42 Bangladesh 25.7% compare
  5. 42 Somalia 25.7% compare
  6. 45 Mali 25.3% compare

See the full ranking of 207 places →

More health data for Malaysia

All data for Malaysia →

Frequently asked questions

What is prevalence of stunting, height for age, male in Malaysia?
Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male in Malaysia was 25.7% 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 Malaysia?
The highest recorded value was 25.7% in 2024.
What is the lowest prevalence of stunting, height for age, male recorded in Malaysia?
The lowest recorded value was 18.9% in 2010.
How does Malaysia rank for prevalence of stunting, height for age, male?
Malaysia ranks 42nd out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
Is prevalence of stunting, height for age, male rising or falling in Malaysia?
Over the last ten years it is up 27.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Malaysia 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.

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Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male in Malaysia. Statizoid, drawing on Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF). Retrieved 17 September 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/prevalence-of-stunting-height-for-age-male-modeled-estimate-percent-of-children-under-5/malaysia/

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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.