Prevalence of stunting, height for age (modeled estimate, %) in Panama
Panama: Prevalence of stunting, height for age (modeled estimate, %) was 14.0% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Panama, 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 Panama is 14.0%, measured in 2024.
The figure is up 0.7% on the previous year and down 26.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of stunting, height for age in Panama peaked at 21.6% in 2008 and was at its lowest, 13.9%, in 2023.
Panama ranks 72nd of 162 countries 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 (modeled estimate, %) in Panama, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 18.3% | — |
| 2001 | 18.5% | +1.1% |
| 2002 | 18.9% | +2.2% |
| 2003 | 19.4% | +2.6% |
| 2004 | 20.1% | +3.6% |
| 2005 | 20.7% | +3.0% |
| 2006 | 21.2% | +2.4% |
| 2007 | 21.5% | +1.4% |
| 2008 | 21.6% | +0.5% |
| 2009 | 21.4% | -0.9% |
| 2010 | 21.2% | -0.9% |
| 2011 | 20.8% | -1.9% |
| 2012 | 20.2% | -2.9% |
| 2013 | 19.6% | -3.0% |
| 2014 | 19.0% | -3.1% |
| 2015 | 18.4% | -3.2% |
| 2016 | 17.7% | -3.8% |
| 2017 | 16.9% | -4.5% |
| 2018 | 16.0% | -5.3% |
| 2019 | 15.2% | -5.0% |
| 2020 | 14.5% | -4.6% |
| 2021 | 14.1% | -2.8% |
| 2022 | 14.0% | -0.7% |
| 2023 | 13.9% | -0.7% |
| 2024 | 14.0% | +0.7% |
Panama compared with similar countries
- Panama's 14.0% is above the median for high income countries, which is 3.5%, 4.0× the median. (37 countries reporting)
- Panama's 14.0% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 9.4%, 1.5× the median. (27 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 20.2% | 18.3% | 21.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 18.5% | 15.2% | 21.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 14.1% | 13.9% | 14.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Panama
More health data for Panama
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.94 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.5994 % change on previous year (2090)
- Un projection of annual infant deaths 101 (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 1 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -0.2522 % 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 0.0378 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate -0.3451 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per capita 0.0398 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of stunting, height for age in Panama?
- Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Panama was 14.0% 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 Panama?
- The highest recorded value was 21.6% in 2008.
- What is the lowest prevalence of stunting, height for age recorded in Panama?
- The lowest recorded value was 13.9% in 2023.
- How does Panama rank for prevalence of stunting, height for age?
- Panama ranks 72nd out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of stunting, height for age rising or falling in Panama?
- Over the last ten years it is down 26.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Panama 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.