Prevalence of stunting, height for age (modeled estimate, %) in Latin America & Caribbean
Latin America & Caribbean: Prevalence of stunting, height for age (modeled estimate, %) was 12.4% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Latin America & Caribbean, 2000–2024
Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Analysis
Latin America & Caribbean recorded 12.4% for prevalence of stunting, height for age in 2024.
The figure is up 1.2% on the previous year and unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of stunting, height for age in Latin America & Caribbean peaked at 18.0% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 11.9%, in 2020.
That places Latin America & Caribbean 34th out of 45 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Prevalence of stunting, height for age (modeled estimate, %) in Latin America & Caribbean, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 18.0% | — |
| 2001 | 17.5% | -2.6% |
| 2002 | 17.1% | -2.5% |
| 2003 | 16.6% | -2.5% |
| 2004 | 16.2% | -2.5% |
| 2005 | 15.8% | -2.4% |
| 2006 | 15.4% | -2.4% |
| 2007 | 15.0% | -2.8% |
| 2008 | 14.5% | -3.2% |
| 2009 | 14.1% | -3.2% |
| 2010 | 13.6% | -3.3% |
| 2011 | 13.2% | -3.3% |
| 2012 | 12.8% | -2.7% |
| 2013 | 12.6% | -2.0% |
| 2014 | 12.4% | -1.4% |
| 2015 | 12.3% | -0.8% |
| 2016 | 12.2% | -0.8% |
| 2017 | 12.1% | -0.9% |
| 2018 | 12.0% | -0.5% |
| 2019 | 11.9% | -0.7% |
| 2020 | 11.9% | -0.3% |
| 2021 | 12.0% | +0.6% |
| 2022 | 12.2% | +1.6% |
| 2023 | 12.2% | +0.7% |
| 2024 | 12.4% | +1.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 16.0% | 14.1% | 18.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 12.5% | 11.9% | 13.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.1% | 11.9% | 12.4% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Latin America & Caribbean
- 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
- 36 Nepal 26.0% compare
- 37 Sierra Leone 25.2% compare
More health data for Latin America & Caribbean
- Population ages 20-24, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 25-29, female, annual growth rate -0.0533 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 20-24, male, per capita 0.0401 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 20-24, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 20-24, male, annual growth rate -0.494 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 20-24, female, per capita 0.039 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 15-19, male, per capita 0.0399 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 15-19, male, annual growth rate -0.2727 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 15-19, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 25-29, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of stunting, height for age in Latin America & Caribbean?
- Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Latin America & Caribbean was 12.4% 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?
- The highest recorded value was 18.0% in 2000.
- What is the lowest prevalence of stunting, height for age recorded in Latin America & Caribbean?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.9% in 2020.
- How does Latin America & Caribbean rank for prevalence of stunting, height for age?
- Latin America & Caribbean ranks 34th out of 45 groups with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of stunting, height for age rising or falling in Latin America & Caribbean?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Latin America & Caribbean 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.