Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male in Colombia

Colombia: Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male was 14.4% in 2016. ▼ Falling

Latest (2016)
14.4%
World rank
58th
of 83 countries
All-time high
28.8%
in 1986
All-time low
13.7%
in 2010
Years of data
6
1986–2016

Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male in Colombia, 1986–2016

01020301986200120161986: 28.8 % of children under 51995: 22 % of children under 52000: 19.1 % of children under 52005: 17.5 % of children under 52010: 13.7 % of children under 52016: 14.4 % of children under 5

Source: UNICEF, WHO, World Bank: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME). Aggregation is based on UNICEF, WHO, and the World Bank harmonized dataset (adjusted, comparable data) and methodology., UN Children'. Measured in % of children under 5.

Analysis

The most recent figure for prevalence of stunting, height for age, male in Colombia is 14.4%, measured in 2016.

The figure is down 17.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, prevalence of stunting, height for age, male in Colombia peaked at 28.8% in 1986 and was at its lowest, 13.7%, in 2010.

Colombia ranks 58th of 83 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

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

Annual values for Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male (% of children under 5) in Colombia, 1986 to 2016.
Year % of children under 5 Change
1986 28.8%
1995 22.0% -23.6%
2000 19.1% -13.2%
2005 17.5% -8.4%
2010 13.7% -21.7%
2016 14.4% +5.1%

Colombia compared with similar countries

  • Colombia's 14.4% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 11.6%, 1.2× the median. (23 countries reporting)
  • Colombia's 14.4% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 13.4%, 1.1× the median. (14 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 28.8% 28.8% 28.8% 1
1990s 22.0% 22.0% 22.0% 1
2000s 18.3% 17.5% 19.1% 2
2010s 14.1% 13.7% 14.4% 2

Countries ranked near Colombia

  1. 55 Tajikistan 15.1% compare
  2. 56 Kyrgyzstan 15.0% compare
  3. 57 Morocco 14.9% compare
  4. 59 Saudi Arabia 13.6% compare
  5. 60 Egypt 13.0% compare
  6. 61 Oman 12.7% compare
  7. 61 Thailand 12.7% compare

See the full ranking of 83 places →

More health data for Colombia

All data for Colombia →

Frequently asked questions

What is prevalence of stunting, height for age, male in Colombia?
Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male in Colombia was 14.4% in 2016, according to UNICEF, WHO, World Bank: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME). Aggregation is based on UNICEF, WHO, and the World Bank harmonized dataset (adjusted, comparable data) and methodology., UN Children'.
What is the highest prevalence of stunting, height for age, male recorded in Colombia?
The highest recorded value was 28.8% in 1986.
What is the lowest prevalence of stunting, height for age, male recorded in Colombia?
The lowest recorded value was 13.7% in 2010.
How does Colombia rank for prevalence of stunting, height for age, male?
Colombia ranks 58th out of 83 countries with data for 2016.
Is prevalence of stunting, height for age, male rising or falling in Colombia?
Over the last ten years it is down 17.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Colombia data come from?
The figures come from UNICEF, WHO, World Bank: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME). Aggregation is based on UNICEF, WHO, and the World Bank harmonized dataset (adjusted, comparable data) and methodology., UN Children', published as part of Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male (% of children under 5). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 6 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male in Colombia. Statizoid, drawing on UNICEF, WHO, World Bank: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME). Aggregation is based on UNICEF, WHO, and the World Bank harmonized dataset (adjusted, comparable data) and methodology., UN Children'. Retrieved 17 September 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/prevalence-of-stunting-height-for-age-male-percent-of-children-under-5/colombia/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://health.statizoid.com/stat/prevalence-of-stunting-height-for-age-male-percent-of-children-under-5/colombia/">Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male in Colombia</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Prevalence of stunting, height for age, male (% of children under 5)
Unit
% of children under 5
Source
UNICEF, WHO, World Bank: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME). Aggregation is based on UNICEF, WHO, and the World Bank harmonized dataset (adjusted, comparable data) and methodology., UN Children'
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
83 places, 730 data points, 1986–2024
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.