Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Belize
Belize: Prevalence of stunting, height for age was 11.7% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Belize, 2000–2024
Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Analysis
Belize recorded 11.7% for prevalence of stunting, height for age in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 27.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of stunting, height for age in Belize peaked at 23.9% in 2001 and was at its lowest, 11.7%, in 2023.
Belize ranks 81st 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 in Belize, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 23.8% | — |
| 2001 | 23.9% | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 23.9% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 23.7% | -0.8% |
| 2004 | 23.4% | -1.3% |
| 2005 | 22.9% | -2.1% |
| 2006 | 22.4% | -2.2% |
| 2007 | 21.7% | -3.1% |
| 2008 | 20.9% | -3.7% |
| 2009 | 20.0% | -4.3% |
| 2010 | 19.2% | -4.0% |
| 2011 | 18.3% | -4.7% |
| 2012 | 17.5% | -4.4% |
| 2013 | 16.8% | -4.0% |
| 2014 | 16.1% | -4.2% |
| 2015 | 15.4% | -4.3% |
| 2016 | 14.8% | -3.9% |
| 2017 | 14.1% | -4.7% |
| 2018 | 13.4% | -5.0% |
| 2019 | 12.9% | -3.7% |
| 2020 | 12.4% | -3.9% |
| 2021 | 12.1% | -2.4% |
| 2022 | 11.9% | -1.7% |
| 2023 | 11.7% | -1.7% |
| 2024 | 11.7% | +0.0% |
Belize compared with similar countries
- Belize's 11.7% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 8.0%, 1.5× the median. (54 countries reporting)
- Belize's 11.7% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 9.4%, 1.2× the median. (27 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 22.7% | 20.0% | 23.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 15.8% | 12.9% | 19.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.0% | 11.7% | 12.4% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Belize
More health data for Belize
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.5114 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,415 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 9 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 0.566 % 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 0.0412 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 0.6604 % 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 in Belize?
- Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Belize was 11.7% in 2024, according to Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
- What is the highest prevalence of stunting, height for age recorded in Belize?
- The highest recorded value was 23.9% in 2001.
- What is the lowest prevalence of stunting, height for age recorded in Belize?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.7% in 2023.
- How does Belize rank for prevalence of stunting, height for age?
- Belize ranks 81st out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of stunting, height for age rising or falling in Belize?
- Over the last ten years it is down 27.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Belize 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 (modeled estimate, % of children under 5). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Prevalence of stunting is the percentage of children 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.