Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male (% of children under 5) by country
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...
What the numbers show
Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male (% of children under 5) is currently reported for 83 countries. The highest value is 56.6% in Burundi; the lowest is 0.8% in Korea.
The median across all reporting countries is 23.4%, and the mean is 23.2%.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 71.
Over the past decade 9 countries rose and 73 fell. The largest increase was in Malaysia (up 21.1%), and the largest decrease in Uzbekistan (down 69.2%).
Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burundi | 56.6% | 2024 | up 1.1% | flat |
| 2 | Niger | 50.4% | 2022 | up 18.6% | falling |
| 3 | Yemen | 48.9% | 2022 | up 4.0% | falling |
| 4 | Timor-Leste | 48.6% | 2020 | down 18.3% | falling |
| 5 | Congo, Democratic Republic of the | 47.2% | 2023 | up 4.7% | flat |
| 6 | Guatemala | 47.1% | 2021 | down 8.5% | falling |
| 7 | Madagascar | 43.6% | 2021 | down 14.0% | falling |
| 8 | Mozambique | 40.9% | 2022 | down 9.3% | falling |
| 9 | Central African Republic | 40.8% | 2022 | down 2.4% | falling |
| 10 | Ethiopia | 39.8% | 2019 | down 13.9% | falling |
| 11 | Malawi | 39.3% | 2020 | down 23.4% | falling |
| 12 | Zambia | 38.3% | 2018 | down 21.5% | falling |
| 12 | Lesotho | 38.3% | 2024 | down 2.0% | falling |
| 14 | Pakistan | 38.2% | 2018 | down 13.6% | falling |
| 15 | Benin | 37.0% | 2021 | down 9.3% | falling |
| 15 | Rwanda | 37.0% | 2020 | down 22.1% | falling |
| 17 | India | 36.2% | 2020 | down 24.3% | falling |
| 18 | Nigeria | 35.0% | 2021 | down 4.9% | falling |
| 19 | Chad | 34.8% | 2022 | down 13.6% | falling |
| 20 | Lao People's Democratic Republic | 34.6% | 2023 | down 24.3% | falling |
| 21 | Tanzania, United Republic of | 33.3% | 2022 | down 6.7% | falling |
| 22 | Liberia | 31.8% | 2019 | down 21.9% | falling |
| 23 | Guinea-Bissau | 31.4% | 2019 | up 7.5% | falling |
| 24 | Cameroon | 31.2% | 2018 | down 23.3% | falling |
| 25 | Guinea | 29.1% | 2022 | down 9.6% | falling |
| 25 | Sierra Leone | 29.1% | 2021 | down 19.6% | falling |
| 27 | Mauritania | 27.6% | 2022 | up 7.4% | falling |
| 28 | Uganda | 27.2% | 2022 | down 23.4% | falling |
| 28 | Philippines | 27.2% | 2021 | down 21.2% | falling |
| 30 | Djibouti | 26.9% | 2023 | down 3.9% | falling |
| 31 | Myanmar | 26.7% | 2018 | down 27.2% | falling |
| 31 | Mali | 26.7% | 2024 | down 14.1% | falling |
| 31 | Zimbabwe | 26.7% | 2019 | down 29.4% | falling |
| 34 | Togo | 26.2% | 2017 | down 19.1% | falling |
| 35 | Nepal | 24.7% | 2022 | down 39.8% | falling |
| 36 | Haiti | 24.6% | 2023 | down 0.8% | falling |
| 37 | Cambodia | 24.5% | 2021 | down 41.0% | falling |
| 37 | Burkina Faso | 24.5% | 2021 | down 35.9% | falling |
| 39 | Côte d'Ivoire | 24.3% | 2021 | down 20.8% | flat |
| 40 | Bangladesh | 23.8% | 2022 | down 35.7% | falling |
| 41 | Viet Nam | 23.7% | 2010 | down 45.8% | falling |
| 42 | Indonesia | 23.4% | 2023 | down 37.1% | falling |
| 43 | Eswatini | 22.7% | 2021 | down 33.2% | falling |
| 44 | Malaysia | 21.8% | 2022 | up 21.1% | rising |
| 45 | Kenya | 19.6% | 2022 | down 28.5% | falling |
| 46 | Ghana | 19.4% | 2022 | down 23.3% | falling |
| 47 | Ecuador | 19.2% | 2024 | down 25.9% | falling |
| 47 | Honduras | 19.2% | 2019 | down 38.9% | falling |
| 49 | Senegal | 18.5% | 2023 | up 3.4% | falling |
| 49 | Gambia | 18.5% | 2020 | down 27.5% | falling |
| 51 | Nicaragua | 18.2% | 2012 | down 32.1% | falling |
| 52 | Sri Lanka | 17.9% | 2016 | down 4.8% | falling |
| 53 | Maldives | 16.3% | 2017 | down 20.1% | falling |
| 54 | Bolivia, Plurinational State of | 16.1% | 2016 | down 42.5% | falling |
| 55 | Tajikistan | 15.1% | 2023 | down 42.8% | falling |
| 56 | Kyrgyzstan | 15.0% | 2023 | down 25.7% | falling |
| 57 | Morocco | 14.9% | 2019 | down 6.3% | falling |
| 58 | Colombia | 14.4% | 2016 | down 17.7% | falling |
| 59 | Saudi Arabia | 13.6% | 2020 | — | rising |
| 60 | Egypt | 13.0% | 2021 | down 60.5% | falling |
| 61 | Oman | 12.7% | 2017 | up 12.4% | falling |
| 61 | Thailand | 12.7% | 2022 | down 23.0% | falling |
| 63 | Peru | 12.5% | 2023 | down 32.4% | falling |
| 64 | Algeria | 11.6% | 2019 | down 30.1% | falling |
| 65 | Mexico | 11.5% | 2022 | down 24.3% | falling |
| 66 | Guyana | 11.4% | 2019 | down 43.6% | falling |
| 67 | Armenia | 10.9% | 2016 | down 40.4% | falling |
| 67 | El Salvador | 10.9% | 2021 | down 49.5% | falling |
| 67 | Mongolia | 10.9% | 2018 | down 36.3% | falling |
| 70 | China | 8.8% | 2013 | down 61.2% | falling |
| 71 | Palestine, State of | 8.6% | 2020 | down 27.7% | flat |
| 72 | Kazakhstan | 7.7% | 2015 | down 57.0% | falling |
| 73 | Jordan | 7.6% | 2023 | down 18.3% | falling |
| 74 | Dominican Republic | 7.5% | 2019 | down 31.2% | falling |
| 75 | Uruguay | 7.3% | 2018 | down 45.5% | falling |
| 76 | Jamaica | 7.0% | 2018 | down 25.5% | falling |
| 77 | Azerbaijan | 6.9% | 2023 | down 61.7% | falling |
| 78 | Türkiye | 6.1% | 2018 | down 50.8% | falling |
| 79 | Uzbekistan | 6.0% | 2021 | down 69.2% | volatile |
| 80 | Kuwait | 3.8% | 2023 | down 39.7% | rising |
| 81 | United States of America | 2.8% | 2018 | down 9.7% | falling |
| 82 | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | 1.8% | 2019 | down 5.3% | falling |
| 83 | Korea | 0.8% | 2020 | down 57.9% | falling |
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.