Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Ghana
Ghana: Prevalence of stunting, height for age was 15.6% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Ghana, 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 Ghana is 15.6%, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of down 23.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of stunting, height for age in Ghana peaked at 32.8% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 15.6%, in 2023.
Ghana ranks 69th 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 Ghana, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 32.8% | — |
| 2001 | 32.4% | -1.2% |
| 2002 | 31.8% | -1.9% |
| 2003 | 31.2% | -1.9% |
| 2004 | 30.4% | -2.6% |
| 2005 | 29.7% | -2.3% |
| 2006 | 28.8% | -3.0% |
| 2007 | 27.8% | -3.5% |
| 2008 | 26.7% | -4.0% |
| 2009 | 25.6% | -4.1% |
| 2010 | 24.5% | -4.3% |
| 2011 | 23.3% | -4.9% |
| 2012 | 22.3% | -4.3% |
| 2013 | 21.3% | -4.5% |
| 2014 | 20.5% | -3.8% |
| 2015 | 19.8% | -3.4% |
| 2016 | 19.2% | -3.0% |
| 2017 | 18.5% | -3.6% |
| 2018 | 17.8% | -3.8% |
| 2019 | 17.1% | -3.9% |
| 2020 | 16.5% | -3.5% |
| 2021 | 16.0% | -3.0% |
| 2022 | 15.7% | -1.9% |
| 2023 | 15.6% | -0.6% |
| 2024 | 15.6% | +0.0% |
Ghana compared with similar countries
- Ghana's 15.6% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 21.2%, 74% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Ghana's 15.6% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 24.8%, 63% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 29.7% | 25.6% | 32.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 20.4% | 17.1% | 24.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 15.9% | 15.6% | 16.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Ghana
More health data for Ghana
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.37 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.6224 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 986.1 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 8,361 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 2 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 0.5623 % 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 0.06 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 0.5816 % 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 Ghana?
- Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Ghana was 15.6% 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 Ghana?
- The highest recorded value was 32.8% in 2000.
- What is the lowest prevalence of stunting, height for age recorded in Ghana?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.6% in 2023.
- How does Ghana rank for prevalence of stunting, height for age?
- Ghana ranks 69th out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of stunting, height for age rising or falling in Ghana?
- Over the last ten years it is down 23.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ghana 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.