Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Thailand
Thailand: Prevalence of stunting, height for age was 12.3% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Thailand, 2000–2024
Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Analysis
Thailand recorded 12.3% for prevalence of stunting, height for age in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 7.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of stunting, height for age in Thailand peaked at 16.2% in 2004 and was at its lowest, 12.2%, in 2020.
Thailand ranks 80th 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 Thailand, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 16.1% | — |
| 2001 | 16.0% | -0.6% |
| 2002 | 16.1% | +0.6% |
| 2003 | 16.1% | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 16.2% | +0.6% |
| 2005 | 16.2% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 16.2% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 16.1% | -0.6% |
| 2008 | 15.9% | -1.2% |
| 2009 | 15.6% | -1.9% |
| 2010 | 15.2% | -2.6% |
| 2011 | 14.6% | -3.9% |
| 2012 | 14.1% | -3.4% |
| 2013 | 13.6% | -3.5% |
| 2014 | 13.3% | -2.2% |
| 2015 | 13.0% | -2.3% |
| 2016 | 12.8% | -1.5% |
| 2017 | 12.6% | -1.6% |
| 2018 | 12.4% | -1.6% |
| 2019 | 12.3% | -0.8% |
| 2020 | 12.2% | -0.8% |
| 2021 | 12.2% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 12.2% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 12.3% | +0.8% |
| 2024 | 12.3% | +0.0% |
Thailand compared with similar countries
- Thailand's 12.3% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 8.0%, 1.5× the median. (54 countries reporting)
- Thailand's 12.3% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 16.0%, 77% of the median. (27 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 16.1% | 15.6% | 16.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 13.4% | 12.3% | 15.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.2% | 12.2% | 12.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Thailand
More health data for Thailand
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.6 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.0316 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,582 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 677 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 1 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -2.01 % 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 0.0201 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate -1.97 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of stunting, height for age in Thailand?
- Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Thailand was 12.3% 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 Thailand?
- The highest recorded value was 16.2% in 2004.
- What is the lowest prevalence of stunting, height for age recorded in Thailand?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.2% in 2020.
- How does Thailand rank for prevalence of stunting, height for age?
- Thailand ranks 80th out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of stunting, height for age rising or falling in Thailand?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Thailand 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.