Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)
Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income): Prevalence of stunting, height for age was 12.7% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income), 2000–2024
Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Analysis
In 2024, prevalence of stunting, height for age in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) stood at 12.7%.
The figure is up 1.5% on the previous year and up 0.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of stunting, height for age in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) peaked at 18.5% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 12.2%, in 2019.
Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) ranks 32nd of 45 groups 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 Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income), year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 18.5% | — |
| 2001 | 18.0% | -2.7% |
| 2002 | 17.5% | -2.6% |
| 2003 | 17.0% | -2.6% |
| 2004 | 16.6% | -2.5% |
| 2005 | 16.2% | -2.6% |
| 2006 | 15.8% | -2.4% |
| 2007 | 15.3% | -3.0% |
| 2008 | 14.8% | -3.1% |
| 2009 | 14.4% | -3.3% |
| 2010 | 13.9% | -3.4% |
| 2011 | 13.4% | -3.3% |
| 2012 | 13.1% | -2.7% |
| 2013 | 12.8% | -1.9% |
| 2014 | 12.6% | -1.5% |
| 2015 | 12.5% | -0.8% |
| 2016 | 12.4% | -0.7% |
| 2017 | 12.3% | -0.7% |
| 2018 | 12.3% | -0.6% |
| 2019 | 12.2% | -0.7% |
| 2020 | 12.2% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 12.3% | +0.5% |
| 2022 | 12.4% | +1.5% |
| 2023 | 12.5% | +0.5% |
| 2024 | 12.7% | +1.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 16.4% | 14.4% | 18.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 12.8% | 12.2% | 13.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.4% | 12.2% | 12.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)
- 29 Rwanda 29.8% compare
- 29 Solomon Islands 29.8% compare
- 31 Guinea-Bissau 28.3% compare
- 32 Philippines 27.7% compare
- 33 Cameroon 27.2% compare
- 34 Liberia 26.9% compare
- 35 Guinea 26.6% compare
More health data for Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)
- Population ages 35-39, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 40-44, male, annual growth rate 1.43 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 40-44, female, per capita 0.0359 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 40-44, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 40-44, female, annual growth rate 1.15 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 35-39, male, per capita 0.0369 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 35-39, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 35-39, male, annual growth rate 0.8651 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 35-39, female, per capita 0.0376 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 30-34, female, annual growth rate 0.3093 % change on previous year (2025)
All data for Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) →
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of stunting, height for age in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)?
- Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) was 12.7% 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 Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)?
- The highest recorded value was 18.5% in 2000.
- What is the lowest prevalence of stunting, height for age recorded in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.2% in 2019.
- How does Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) rank for prevalence of stunting, height for age?
- Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) ranks 32nd out of 45 groups with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of stunting, height for age rising or falling in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) 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.