Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Lao People's Democratic Republic
Lao People's Democratic Republic: Prevalence of stunting, height for age was 29.9% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Lao People's Democratic Republic, 2000–2024
Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Analysis
Lao People's Democratic Republic recorded 29.9% 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 1.0% on the previous year and down 21.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of stunting, height for age in Lao People's Democratic Republic peaked at 48.9% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 29.9%, in 2024.
That places Lao People's Democratic Republic 27th out of 162 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Lao People's Democratic Republic, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 48.9% | — |
| 2001 | 48.7% | -0.4% |
| 2002 | 48.5% | -0.4% |
| 2003 | 48.2% | -0.6% |
| 2004 | 47.8% | -0.8% |
| 2005 | 47.4% | -0.8% |
| 2006 | 46.8% | -1.3% |
| 2007 | 46.1% | -1.5% |
| 2008 | 45.1% | -2.2% |
| 2009 | 44.0% | -2.4% |
| 2010 | 42.8% | -2.7% |
| 2011 | 41.6% | -2.8% |
| 2012 | 40.5% | -2.6% |
| 2013 | 39.4% | -2.7% |
| 2014 | 38.3% | -2.8% |
| 2015 | 37.3% | -2.6% |
| 2016 | 36.1% | -3.2% |
| 2017 | 34.8% | -3.6% |
| 2018 | 33.6% | -3.4% |
| 2019 | 32.4% | -3.6% |
| 2020 | 31.5% | -2.8% |
| 2021 | 30.8% | -2.2% |
| 2022 | 30.5% | -1.0% |
| 2023 | 30.2% | -1.0% |
| 2024 | 29.9% | -1.0% |
Lao People's Democratic Republic compared with similar countries
- Lao People's Democratic Republic's 29.9% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 21.2%, 1.4× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Lao People's Democratic Republic's 29.9% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 16.0%, 1.9× the median. (27 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 47.1% | 44.0% | 48.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 37.7% | 32.4% | 42.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 30.6% | 29.9% | 31.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Lao People's Democratic Republic
- 24 Vanuatu 31.0% compare
- 25 Marshall Islands 30.0% compare
- 25 South Sudan 30.0% compare
- 27 Tanzania, United Republic of 29.9% compare
- 29 Rwanda 29.8% compare
- 29 Solomon Islands 29.8% compare
More health data for Lao People's Democratic Republic
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -2.76 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.5667 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,260 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 317 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 15 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -0.5161 % 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 0.0489 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate -0.5055 % 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 Lao People's Democratic Republic?
- Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Lao People's Democratic Republic was 29.9% 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 Lao People's Democratic Republic?
- The highest recorded value was 48.9% in 2000.
- What is the lowest prevalence of stunting, height for age recorded in Lao People's Democratic Republic?
- The lowest recorded value was 29.9% in 2024.
- How does Lao People's Democratic Republic rank for prevalence of stunting, height for age?
- Lao People's Democratic Republic ranks 27th out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of stunting, height for age rising or falling in Lao People's Democratic Republic?
- Over the last ten years it is down 21.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Lao People's Democratic Republic 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.
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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.