Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Somalia
Somalia: Prevalence of stunting, height for age was 23.9% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Somalia, 2000–2024
Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Analysis
In 2024, prevalence of stunting, height for age in Somalia stood at 23.9%. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
The figure is down 15.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of stunting, height for age in Somalia peaked at 33.7% in 2002 and was at its lowest, 23.9%, in 2023.
That places Somalia 42nd out of 162 countries with data for 2024, putting it 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 Somalia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 33.6% | — |
| 2001 | 33.6% | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 33.7% | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 33.7% | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 33.6% | -0.3% |
| 2005 | 33.4% | -0.6% |
| 2006 | 33.2% | -0.6% |
| 2007 | 32.8% | -1.2% |
| 2008 | 32.2% | -1.8% |
| 2009 | 31.6% | -1.9% |
| 2010 | 30.8% | -2.5% |
| 2011 | 30.1% | -2.3% |
| 2012 | 29.4% | -2.3% |
| 2013 | 28.8% | -2.0% |
| 2014 | 28.3% | -1.7% |
| 2015 | 27.7% | -2.1% |
| 2016 | 27.1% | -2.2% |
| 2017 | 26.4% | -2.6% |
| 2018 | 25.7% | -2.7% |
| 2019 | 25.0% | -2.7% |
| 2020 | 24.5% | -2.0% |
| 2021 | 24.1% | -1.6% |
| 2022 | 24.0% | -0.4% |
| 2023 | 23.9% | -0.4% |
| 2024 | 23.9% | +0.0% |
Somalia compared with similar countries
- Somalia's 23.9% is below the median for low income countries, which is 31.5%, 76% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Somalia's 23.9% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 24.8%, 96% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 33.1% | 31.6% | 33.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 27.9% | 25.0% | 30.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 24.1% | 23.9% | 24.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Somalia
More health data for Somalia
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.41 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.8681 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 987.7 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 32,421 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 182 (2013)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 2.39 % 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 0.0897 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 2.38 % 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 Somalia?
- Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Somalia was 23.9% 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 Somalia?
- The highest recorded value was 33.7% in 2002.
- What is the lowest prevalence of stunting, height for age recorded in Somalia?
- The lowest recorded value was 23.9% in 2023.
- How does Somalia rank for prevalence of stunting, height for age?
- Somalia ranks 42nd out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of stunting, height for age rising or falling in Somalia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 15.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Somalia 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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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.