Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male in Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea: Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male was 48.9% in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
48.9%
Change on year
up 0.8%
World rank
5th
of 162 countries
All-time high
49.3%
in 2013
All-time low
38.4%
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male in Papua New Guinea, 2000–2024

010203040502000201220242000: 38.42001: 39.52002: 40.82003: 42.12004: 43.52005: 44.82006: 462007: 47.12008: 47.92009: 48.42010: 48.72011: 492012: 49.12013: 49.32014: 49.32015: 49.22016: 492017: 48.72018: 48.42019: 482020: 47.92021: 47.92022: 48.22023: 48.52024: 48.9

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

Analysis

Papua New Guinea recorded 48.9% for prevalence of stunting, height for age, male in 2024.

That represents a change of up 0.8% on the previous year and down 0.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, prevalence of stunting, height for age, male in Papua New Guinea peaked at 49.3% in 2013 and was at its lowest, 38.4%, in 2000.

That places Papua New Guinea 5th out of 162 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.

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

Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male in Papua New Guinea, year by year

Annual values for Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male (modeled estimate, % of children under 5) in Papua New Guinea, 2000 to 2024.
Year Value Change
2000 38.4%
2001 39.5% +2.9%
2002 40.8% +3.3%
2003 42.1% +3.2%
2004 43.5% +3.3%
2005 44.8% +3.0%
2006 46.0% +2.7%
2007 47.1% +2.4%
2008 47.9% +1.7%
2009 48.4% +1.0%
2010 48.7% +0.6%
2011 49.0% +0.6%
2012 49.1% +0.2%
2013 49.3% +0.4%
2014 49.3% +0.0%
2015 49.2% -0.2%
2016 49.0% -0.4%
2017 48.7% -0.6%
2018 48.4% -0.6%
2019 48.0% -0.8%
2020 47.9% -0.2%
2021 47.9% +0.0%
2022 48.2% +0.6%
2023 48.5% +0.6%
2024 48.9% +0.8%

Papua New Guinea compared with similar countries

  • Papua New Guinea's 48.9% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 23.0%, 2.1× the median. (46 countries reporting)
  • Papua New Guinea's 48.9% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 17.1%, 2.9× the median. (27 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 43.9% 38.4% 48.4% 10
2010s 48.9% 48.0% 49.3% 10
2020s 48.3% 47.9% 48.9% 5

Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea

  1. 2 Eritrea 51.1% compare
  2. 3 Niger 50.8% compare
  3. 4 Angola 50.5% compare
  4. 6 Yemen 48.4% compare
  5. 7 Guatemala 47.2% compare
  6. 8 Democratic Republic of Congo 47.0% compare
  7. 8 East Timor 47.0% compare

See the full ranking of 207 places →

More health data for Papua New Guinea

All data for Papua New Guinea →

Frequently asked questions

What is prevalence of stunting, height for age, male in Papua New Guinea?
Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male in Papua New Guinea was 48.9% 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 Papua New Guinea?
The highest recorded value was 49.3% in 2013.
What is the lowest prevalence of stunting, height for age, male recorded in Papua New Guinea?
The lowest recorded value was 38.4% in 2000.
How does Papua New Guinea rank for prevalence of stunting, height for age, male?
Papua New Guinea ranks 5th out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
Is prevalence of stunting, height for age, male rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
Over the last ten years it is down 0.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Papua New Guinea 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 Papua New Guinea. 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/papua-new-guinea/

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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.