Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Rwanda
Rwanda: Prevalence of stunting, height for age was 29.8% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Rwanda, 2000–2024
Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Analysis
Rwanda recorded 29.8% 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 1.0% on the previous year and down 22.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of stunting, height for age in Rwanda peaked at 48.7% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 29.8%, in 2024.
That places Rwanda 29th 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 Rwanda, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 48.7% | — |
| 2001 | 48.7% | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 48.7% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 48.6% | -0.2% |
| 2004 | 48.5% | -0.2% |
| 2005 | 48.4% | -0.2% |
| 2006 | 48.1% | -0.6% |
| 2007 | 47.6% | -1.0% |
| 2008 | 46.8% | -1.7% |
| 2009 | 45.8% | -2.1% |
| 2010 | 44.4% | -3.1% |
| 2011 | 42.9% | -3.4% |
| 2012 | 41.3% | -3.7% |
| 2013 | 39.8% | -3.6% |
| 2014 | 38.4% | -3.5% |
| 2015 | 37.0% | -3.6% |
| 2016 | 35.8% | -3.2% |
| 2017 | 34.6% | -3.4% |
| 2018 | 33.5% | -3.2% |
| 2019 | 32.4% | -3.3% |
| 2020 | 31.6% | -2.5% |
| 2021 | 30.9% | -2.2% |
| 2022 | 30.5% | -1.3% |
| 2023 | 30.1% | -1.3% |
| 2024 | 29.8% | -1.0% |
Rwanda compared with similar countries
- Rwanda's 29.8% is below the median for low income countries, which is 31.5%, 95% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Rwanda's 29.8% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 24.8%, 1.2× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 48.0% | 45.8% | 48.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 38.0% | 32.4% | 44.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 30.6% | 29.8% | 31.6% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Rwanda
- 27 Lao People's Democratic Republic 29.9% compare
- 27 Tanzania, United Republic of 29.9% compare
- 29 Solomon Islands 29.8% compare
- 31 Guinea-Bissau 28.3% compare
- 32 Philippines 27.7% compare
More health data for Rwanda
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.08 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.891 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 860.6 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 2,738 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 1 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 0.9441 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.065 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 0.9697 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of stunting, height for age in Rwanda?
- Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Rwanda was 29.8% 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 Rwanda?
- The highest recorded value was 48.7% in 2000.
- What is the lowest prevalence of stunting, height for age recorded in Rwanda?
- The lowest recorded value was 29.8% in 2024.
- How does Rwanda rank for prevalence of stunting, height for age?
- Rwanda ranks 29th out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of stunting, height for age rising or falling in Rwanda?
- Over the last ten years it is down 22.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Rwanda 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.
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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.