Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Myanmar
Myanmar: Prevalence of stunting, height for age was 24.5% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Myanmar, 2000–2024
Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Analysis
Myanmar recorded 24.5% 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 0.8% on the previous year and down 18.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of stunting, height for age in Myanmar peaked at 45.9% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 24.5%, in 2024.
That places Myanmar 39th 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 Myanmar, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 45.9% | — |
| 2001 | 44.6% | -2.8% |
| 2002 | 43.4% | -2.7% |
| 2003 | 42.0% | -3.2% |
| 2004 | 40.7% | -3.1% |
| 2005 | 39.4% | -3.2% |
| 2006 | 38.1% | -3.3% |
| 2007 | 36.8% | -3.4% |
| 2008 | 35.5% | -3.5% |
| 2009 | 34.2% | -3.7% |
| 2010 | 33.0% | -3.5% |
| 2011 | 32.0% | -3.0% |
| 2012 | 31.2% | -2.5% |
| 2013 | 30.5% | -2.2% |
| 2014 | 29.9% | -2.0% |
| 2015 | 29.2% | -2.3% |
| 2016 | 28.6% | -2.1% |
| 2017 | 27.8% | -2.8% |
| 2018 | 26.9% | -3.2% |
| 2019 | 26.2% | -2.6% |
| 2020 | 25.5% | -2.7% |
| 2021 | 25.1% | -1.6% |
| 2022 | 24.9% | -0.8% |
| 2023 | 24.7% | -0.8% |
| 2024 | 24.5% | -0.8% |
Myanmar compared with similar countries
- Myanmar's 24.5% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 21.2%, 1.2× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Myanmar's 24.5% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 16.0%, 1.5× the median. (27 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 40.1% | 34.2% | 45.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 29.5% | 26.2% | 33.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 24.9% | 24.5% | 25.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Myanmar
- 36 Nepal 26.0% compare
- 37 Sierra Leone 25.2% compare
- 38 Bangladesh 25.1% compare
- 40 South Africa 24.4% compare
- 41 Malaysia 24.3% compare
- 42 Somalia 23.9% compare
More health data for Myanmar
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -2.11 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.1576 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,398 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 2,973 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 7 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -0.759 % 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 0.0387 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate -0.8351 % 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 Myanmar?
- Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Myanmar was 24.5% 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 Myanmar?
- The highest recorded value was 45.9% in 2000.
- What is the lowest prevalence of stunting, height for age recorded in Myanmar?
- The lowest recorded value was 24.5% in 2024.
- How does Myanmar rank for prevalence of stunting, height for age?
- Myanmar ranks 39th out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of stunting, height for age rising or falling in Myanmar?
- Over the last ten years it is down 18.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Myanmar 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
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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.