Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male was 10.5% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male in Sri Lanka, 2000–2024
Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Analysis
Sri Lanka recorded 10.5% for prevalence of stunting, height for age, male in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.9% on the previous year and down 30.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of stunting, height for age, male in Sri Lanka peaked at 20.5% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 10.5%, in 2024.
Sri Lanka ranks 94th of 162 countries on this measure, 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 Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 20.5% | — |
| 2001 | 20.4% | -0.5% |
| 2002 | 20.3% | -0.5% |
| 2003 | 20.2% | -0.5% |
| 2004 | 20.0% | -1.0% |
| 2005 | 19.9% | -0.5% |
| 2006 | 19.6% | -1.5% |
| 2007 | 19.2% | -2.0% |
| 2008 | 18.8% | -2.1% |
| 2009 | 18.3% | -2.7% |
| 2010 | 17.8% | -2.7% |
| 2011 | 17.2% | -3.4% |
| 2012 | 16.5% | -4.1% |
| 2013 | 15.8% | -4.2% |
| 2014 | 15.1% | -4.4% |
| 2015 | 14.5% | -4.0% |
| 2016 | 13.8% | -4.8% |
| 2017 | 13.2% | -4.3% |
| 2018 | 12.6% | -4.5% |
| 2019 | 12.0% | -4.8% |
| 2020 | 11.5% | -4.2% |
| 2021 | 11.2% | -2.6% |
| 2022 | 10.9% | -2.7% |
| 2023 | 10.6% | -2.8% |
| 2024 | 10.5% | -0.9% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 10.5% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 8.7%, 1.2× the median. (54 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 10.5% is below the median for South Asia, which is 22.1%, 47% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 19.7% | 18.3% | 20.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 14.8% | 12.0% | 17.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.9% | 10.5% | 11.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More health data for Sri Lanka
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.62 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.7332 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,250 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 304 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -2.13 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.0339 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate -2.12 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of stunting, height for age, male in Sri Lanka?
- Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male in Sri Lanka was 10.5% 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 Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 20.5% in 2000.
- What is the lowest prevalence of stunting, height for age, male recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.5% in 2024.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for prevalence of stunting, height for age, male?
- Sri Lanka ranks 94th out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of stunting, height for age, male rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 30.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sri Lanka 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
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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.