Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Syria
Syria: Prevalence of stunting, height for age was 23.5% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Syria, 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 Syria is 23.5%, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of down 1.3% on the previous year and down 13.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of stunting, height for age in Syria peaked at 29.7% in 2004 and was at its lowest, 23.5%, in 2024.
Syria ranks 44th 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 in Syria, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 28.3% | — |
| 2001 | 28.7% | +1.4% |
| 2002 | 29.1% | +1.4% |
| 2003 | 29.5% | +1.4% |
| 2004 | 29.7% | +0.7% |
| 2005 | 29.6% | -0.3% |
| 2006 | 29.4% | -0.7% |
| 2007 | 29.1% | -1.0% |
| 2008 | 28.6% | -1.7% |
| 2009 | 27.9% | -2.4% |
| 2010 | 27.2% | -2.5% |
| 2011 | 26.6% | -2.2% |
| 2012 | 26.5% | -0.4% |
| 2013 | 26.8% | +1.1% |
| 2014 | 27.1% | +1.1% |
| 2015 | 27.4% | +1.1% |
| 2016 | 27.4% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 27.2% | -0.7% |
| 2018 | 26.5% | -2.6% |
| 2019 | 25.8% | -2.6% |
| 2020 | 25.1% | -2.7% |
| 2021 | 24.6% | -2.0% |
| 2022 | 24.2% | -1.6% |
| 2023 | 23.8% | -1.7% |
| 2024 | 23.5% | -1.3% |
Syria compared with similar countries
- Syria's 23.5% is below the median for low income countries, which is 31.5%, 75% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Syria's 23.5% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 9.4%, 2.5× the median. (21 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 29.0% | 27.9% | 29.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 26.9% | 25.8% | 27.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 24.2% | 23.5% | 25.1% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Syria
More health data for Syria
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -2.1 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.8632 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,122 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 1,491 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 2 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 7.54 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2022)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.0503 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 7.65 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of stunting, height for age in Syria?
- Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Syria was 23.5% 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 Syria?
- The highest recorded value was 29.7% in 2004.
- What is the lowest prevalence of stunting, height for age recorded in Syria?
- The lowest recorded value was 23.5% in 2024.
- How does Syria rank for prevalence of stunting, height for age?
- Syria ranks 44th out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of stunting, height for age rising or falling in Syria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 13.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Syria 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.