Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male in Nigeria
Nigeria: Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male was 36.2% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male in Nigeria, 2000–2024
Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Analysis
Nigeria recorded 36.2% for prevalence of stunting, height for age, male in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.6% on the previous year and down 6.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of stunting, height for age, male in Nigeria peaked at 44.1% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 35.7%, in 2021.
That places Nigeria 17th out of 162 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 44.1% | — |
| 2001 | 44.0% | -0.2% |
| 2002 | 43.9% | -0.2% |
| 2003 | 43.7% | -0.5% |
| 2004 | 43.4% | -0.7% |
| 2005 | 43.0% | -0.9% |
| 2006 | 42.7% | -0.7% |
| 2007 | 42.2% | -1.2% |
| 2008 | 41.6% | -1.4% |
| 2009 | 41.0% | -1.4% |
| 2010 | 40.4% | -1.5% |
| 2011 | 39.8% | -1.5% |
| 2012 | 39.3% | -1.3% |
| 2013 | 38.9% | -1.0% |
| 2014 | 38.5% | -1.0% |
| 2015 | 38.1% | -1.0% |
| 2016 | 37.7% | -1.0% |
| 2017 | 37.2% | -1.3% |
| 2018 | 36.7% | -1.3% |
| 2019 | 36.2% | -1.4% |
| 2020 | 35.8% | -1.1% |
| 2021 | 35.7% | -0.3% |
| 2022 | 35.9% | +0.6% |
| 2023 | 36.0% | +0.3% |
| 2024 | 36.2% | +0.6% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 36.2% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 23.0%, 1.6× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 36.2% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 27.3%, 1.3× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 43.0% | 41.0% | 44.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 38.3% | 36.2% | 40.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 35.9% | 35.7% | 36.2% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
More health data for Nigeria
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.08 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.8137 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,301 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 257,921 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 14 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 1.14 % 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 0.0711 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 1.17 % 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, male in Nigeria?
- Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male in Nigeria was 36.2% in 2024, according to Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
- What is the highest prevalence of stunting, height for age, male recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 44.1% in 2000.
- What is the lowest prevalence of stunting, height for age, male recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 35.7% in 2021.
- How does Nigeria rank for prevalence of stunting, height for age, male?
- Nigeria ranks 17th out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of stunting, height for age, male rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Nigeria 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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About this data
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.