Prevalence of stunting, height for age in North America
North America: Prevalence of stunting, height for age was 4.1% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Prevalence of stunting, height for age in North America, 2000–2024
Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Analysis
In 2024, prevalence of stunting, height for age in North America stood at 4.1%. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
The figure is up 4.9% on the previous year and up 50.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of stunting, height for age in North America peaked at 4.1% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 2.5%, in 2010.
North America ranks 42nd of 45 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Prevalence of stunting, height for age in North America, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 3.1% | — |
| 2001 | 3.0% | -3.2% |
| 2002 | 2.9% | -2.6% |
| 2003 | 2.9% | -2.7% |
| 2004 | 2.8% | -2.8% |
| 2005 | 2.7% | -1.8% |
| 2006 | 2.7% | -1.5% |
| 2007 | 2.6% | -1.9% |
| 2008 | 2.6% | -1.9% |
| 2009 | 2.5% | -1.5% |
| 2010 | 2.5% | -0.8% |
| 2011 | 2.5% | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 2.6% | +1.6% |
| 2013 | 2.6% | +2.3% |
| 2014 | 2.7% | +3.0% |
| 2015 | 2.8% | +3.3% |
| 2016 | 2.9% | +3.6% |
| 2017 | 3.0% | +3.1% |
| 2018 | 3.1% | +3.3% |
| 2019 | 3.2% | +3.2% |
| 2020 | 3.3% | +4.4% |
| 2021 | 3.5% | +5.1% |
| 2022 | 3.7% | +6.0% |
| 2023 | 3.9% | +4.8% |
| 2024 | 4.1% | +4.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 2.8% | 2.5% | 3.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.8% | 2.5% | 3.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.7% | 3.3% | 4.1% | 5 |
Countries ranked near North America
More health data for North America
- Population ages 55-59, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 55-59, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 55-59, female, per capita 0.0297 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 55-59, male, annual growth rate -0.5946 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 15-19, female, per capita 0.0314 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 60-64, female, annual growth rate -0.6806 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 60-64, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 15-19, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 15-19, male, annual growth rate 0.3175 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 55-59, male, per capita 0.0301 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of stunting, height for age in North America?
- Prevalence of stunting, height for age in North America was 4.1% 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 North America?
- The highest recorded value was 4.1% in 2024.
- What is the lowest prevalence of stunting, height for age recorded in North America?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.5% in 2010.
- How does North America rank for prevalence of stunting, height for age?
- North America ranks 42nd out of 45 groups with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of stunting, height for age rising or falling in North America?
- Over the last ten years it is up 50.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this North America 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.