Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Colombia
Colombia: Prevalence of stunting, height for age was 11.6% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Colombia, 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 Colombia is 11.6%, measured in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.8% on the previous year and down 6.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of stunting, height for age in Colombia peaked at 17.4% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 11.2%, in 2020.
That places Colombia 84th out of 162 countries with data for 2024, putting it 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 Colombia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 17.4% | — |
| 2001 | 17.1% | -1.7% |
| 2002 | 16.9% | -1.2% |
| 2003 | 16.6% | -1.8% |
| 2004 | 16.2% | -2.4% |
| 2005 | 15.8% | -2.5% |
| 2006 | 15.3% | -3.2% |
| 2007 | 14.7% | -3.9% |
| 2008 | 14.1% | -4.1% |
| 2009 | 13.6% | -3.5% |
| 2010 | 13.2% | -2.9% |
| 2011 | 12.9% | -2.3% |
| 2012 | 12.7% | -1.6% |
| 2013 | 12.6% | -0.8% |
| 2014 | 12.4% | -1.6% |
| 2015 | 12.3% | -0.8% |
| 2016 | 12.1% | -1.6% |
| 2017 | 11.8% | -2.5% |
| 2018 | 11.6% | -1.7% |
| 2019 | 11.3% | -2.6% |
| 2020 | 11.2% | -0.9% |
| 2021 | 11.2% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 11.3% | +0.9% |
| 2023 | 11.4% | +0.9% |
| 2024 | 11.6% | +1.8% |
Colombia compared with similar countries
- Colombia's 11.6% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 8.0%, 1.4× the median. (54 countries reporting)
- Colombia's 11.6% 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 | 15.8% | 13.6% | 17.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 12.3% | 11.3% | 13.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 11.3% | 11.2% | 11.6% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Colombia
- 81 Belize 11.7% compare
- 81 Ukraine 11.7% compare
- 81 Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of 11.7% compare
- 85 Saudi Arabia 11.1% compare
- 86 Kyrgyzstan 11.0% compare
- 87 Argentina 10.7% compare
- 87 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 10.7% compare
More health data for Colombia
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.83 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.3468 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,505 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 698 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 1 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -0.3706 % 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 0.0324 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate -0.3776 % 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 Colombia?
- Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Colombia was 11.6% 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 Colombia?
- The highest recorded value was 17.4% in 2000.
- What is the lowest prevalence of stunting, height for age recorded in Colombia?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.2% in 2020.
- How does Colombia rank for prevalence of stunting, height for age?
- Colombia ranks 84th out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of stunting, height for age rising or falling in Colombia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Colombia 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.