Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD)
Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD): Prevalence of stunting, height for age was 25.2% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD), 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 Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) is 25.2%, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of up 0.6% on the previous year and down 14.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of stunting, height for age in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) peaked at 34.3% in 2004 and was at its lowest, 25.0%, in 2022.
Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) ranks 19th 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 Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD), year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 33.9% | — |
| 2001 | 34.0% | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 34.2% | +0.5% |
| 2003 | 34.3% | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 34.3% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 34.2% | -0.3% |
| 2006 | 34.1% | -0.2% |
| 2007 | 33.9% | -0.7% |
| 2008 | 33.6% | -0.9% |
| 2009 | 33.1% | -1.3% |
| 2010 | 32.6% | -1.7% |
| 2011 | 31.9% | -1.9% |
| 2012 | 31.2% | -2.3% |
| 2013 | 30.4% | -2.5% |
| 2014 | 29.6% | -2.6% |
| 2015 | 28.8% | -2.6% |
| 2016 | 28.0% | -2.9% |
| 2017 | 27.2% | -2.8% |
| 2018 | 26.4% | -2.9% |
| 2019 | 25.8% | -2.4% |
| 2020 | 25.3% | -1.9% |
| 2021 | 25.1% | -1.1% |
| 2022 | 25.0% | -0.1% |
| 2023 | 25.1% | +0.2% |
| 2024 | 25.2% | +0.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 34.0% | 33.1% | 34.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 29.2% | 25.8% | 32.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 25.1% | 25.0% | 25.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD)
More health data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD)
- Population ages 35-39, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 40-44, male, annual growth rate 3.1 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 40-44, female, per capita 0.0305 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 3.2 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 35-39, male, per capita 0.0351 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 1.48 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 35-39, female, per capita 0.0341 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 30-34, female, annual growth rate 0.471 % change on previous year (2025)
All data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) →
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of stunting, height for age in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD)?
- Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) was 25.2% 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 Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD)?
- The highest recorded value was 34.3% in 2004.
- What is the lowest prevalence of stunting, height for age recorded in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD)?
- The lowest recorded value was 25.0% in 2022.
- How does Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) rank for prevalence of stunting, height for age?
- Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) ranks 19th out of 45 groups with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of stunting, height for age rising or falling in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD)?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) 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.