Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Botswana
Botswana: Prevalence of stunting, height for age was 21.0% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Botswana, 2000–2024
Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Analysis
The most recent figure for prevalence of stunting, height for age in Botswana is 21.0%, measured 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 9.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of stunting, height for age in Botswana peaked at 30.3% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 21.0%, in 2024.
Botswana ranks 52nd 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 Botswana, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 30.3% | — |
| 2001 | 30.2% | -0.3% |
| 2002 | 30.1% | -0.3% |
| 2003 | 29.8% | -1.0% |
| 2004 | 29.6% | -0.7% |
| 2005 | 29.3% | -1.0% |
| 2006 | 28.9% | -1.4% |
| 2007 | 28.3% | -2.1% |
| 2008 | 27.8% | -1.8% |
| 2009 | 27.1% | -2.5% |
| 2010 | 26.2% | -3.3% |
| 2011 | 25.4% | -3.1% |
| 2012 | 24.7% | -2.8% |
| 2013 | 23.7% | -4.0% |
| 2014 | 23.2% | -2.1% |
| 2015 | 22.9% | -1.3% |
| 2016 | 22.7% | -0.9% |
| 2017 | 22.6% | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 22.5% | -0.4% |
| 2019 | 22.2% | -1.3% |
| 2020 | 21.9% | -1.4% |
| 2021 | 21.6% | -1.4% |
| 2022 | 21.4% | -0.9% |
| 2023 | 21.2% | -0.9% |
| 2024 | 21.0% | -0.9% |
Botswana compared with similar countries
- Botswana's 21.0% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 8.0%, 2.6× the median. (54 countries reporting)
- Botswana's 21.0% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 24.8%, 85% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 29.1% | 27.1% | 30.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 23.6% | 22.2% | 26.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 21.4% | 21.0% | 21.9% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Botswana
- 49 Cambodia 22.0% compare
- 50 Haiti 21.6% compare
- 51 Mauritania 21.5% compare
- 53 Djibouti 20.9% compare
- 54 Côte d'Ivoire 20.3% compare
- 55 Burkina Faso 19.5% compare
More health data for Botswana
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.75 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.2265 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,150 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 281 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 0.6484 % 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 0.0579 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 0.9109 % 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 Botswana?
- Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Botswana was 21.0% 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 Botswana?
- The highest recorded value was 30.3% in 2000.
- What is the lowest prevalence of stunting, height for age recorded in Botswana?
- The lowest recorded value was 21.0% in 2024.
- How does Botswana rank for prevalence of stunting, height for age?
- Botswana ranks 52nd out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of stunting, height for age rising or falling in Botswana?
- Over the last ten years it is down 9.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Botswana 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.