Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Tanzania
Tanzania: Prevalence of stunting, height for age was 29.9% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Tanzania, 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 Tanzania is 29.9%, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.7% on the previous year and down 16.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of stunting, height for age in Tanzania peaked at 47.6% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 29.9%, in 2024.
Tanzania ranks 27th of 162 countries on this measure, 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 Tanzania, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 47.6% | — |
| 2001 | 47.1% | -1.1% |
| 2002 | 46.5% | -1.3% |
| 2003 | 45.8% | -1.5% |
| 2004 | 45.1% | -1.5% |
| 2005 | 44.3% | -1.8% |
| 2006 | 43.5% | -1.8% |
| 2007 | 42.7% | -1.8% |
| 2008 | 41.8% | -2.1% |
| 2009 | 40.8% | -2.4% |
| 2010 | 39.8% | -2.5% |
| 2011 | 38.7% | -2.8% |
| 2012 | 37.7% | -2.6% |
| 2013 | 36.7% | -2.7% |
| 2014 | 35.8% | -2.5% |
| 2015 | 34.9% | -2.5% |
| 2016 | 34.1% | -2.3% |
| 2017 | 33.3% | -2.3% |
| 2018 | 32.5% | -2.4% |
| 2019 | 31.7% | -2.5% |
| 2020 | 31.0% | -2.2% |
| 2021 | 30.5% | -1.6% |
| 2022 | 30.3% | -0.7% |
| 2023 | 30.1% | -0.7% |
| 2024 | 29.9% | -0.7% |
Tanzania compared with similar countries
- Tanzania's 29.9% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 21.2%, 1.4× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Tanzania's 29.9% 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 | 44.5% | 40.8% | 47.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 35.5% | 31.7% | 39.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 30.4% | 29.9% | 31.0% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Tanzania
- 24 Vanuatu 31.0% compare
- 25 Marshall Islands 30.0% compare
- 25 South Sudan 30.0% compare
- 27 Laos 29.9% compare
- 29 Rwanda 29.8% compare
- 29 Solomon Islands 29.8% compare
More health data for Tanzania
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.03 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.7342 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 658.6 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 32,514 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 13 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 1.86 % 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 0.0786 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 1.89 % 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 Tanzania?
- Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Tanzania was 29.9% 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 Tanzania?
- The highest recorded value was 47.6% in 2000.
- What is the lowest prevalence of stunting, height for age recorded in Tanzania?
- The lowest recorded value was 29.9% in 2024.
- How does Tanzania rank for prevalence of stunting, height for age?
- Tanzania ranks 27th out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of stunting, height for age rising or falling in Tanzania?
- Over the last ten years it is down 16.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Tanzania 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.