Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Timor-Leste
Timor-Leste: Prevalence of stunting, height for age was 45.4% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Timor-Leste, 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 Timor-Leste is 45.4%, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of up 0.4% on the previous year and down 10.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of stunting, height for age in Timor-Leste peaked at 57.0% in 2006 and was at its lowest, 45.2%, in 2023.
Timor-Leste ranks 7th of 162 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Timor-Leste, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 55.0% | — |
| 2001 | 55.4% | +0.7% |
| 2002 | 55.8% | +0.7% |
| 2003 | 56.2% | +0.7% |
| 2004 | 56.5% | +0.5% |
| 2005 | 56.8% | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 57.0% | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 56.8% | -0.4% |
| 2008 | 56.3% | -0.9% |
| 2009 | 55.6% | -1.2% |
| 2010 | 54.7% | -1.6% |
| 2011 | 53.7% | -1.8% |
| 2012 | 52.7% | -1.9% |
| 2013 | 51.8% | -1.7% |
| 2014 | 50.9% | -1.7% |
| 2015 | 50.0% | -1.8% |
| 2016 | 49.1% | -1.8% |
| 2017 | 48.1% | -2.0% |
| 2018 | 47.3% | -1.7% |
| 2019 | 46.4% | -1.9% |
| 2020 | 45.8% | -1.3% |
| 2021 | 45.5% | -0.7% |
| 2022 | 45.4% | -0.2% |
| 2023 | 45.2% | -0.4% |
| 2024 | 45.4% | +0.4% |
Timor-Leste compared with similar countries
- Timor-Leste's 45.4% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 21.2%, 2.1× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Timor-Leste's 45.4% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 16.0%, 2.8× the median. (27 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 56.1% | 55.0% | 57.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 50.5% | 46.4% | 54.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 45.5% | 45.2% | 45.8% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Timor-Leste
- 4 Angola 47.7% compare
- 5 Papua New Guinea 47.6% compare
- 6 Yemen 47.4% compare
- 8 Guatemala 44.6% compare
- 9 Congo, Democratic Republic of the 44.1% compare
- 10 Afghanistan 42.0% compare
More health data for Timor-Leste
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.22 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.894 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,287 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 162 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -2.67 % 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 0.051 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate -2.04 % 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 Timor-Leste?
- Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Timor-Leste was 45.4% 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 Timor-Leste?
- The highest recorded value was 57.0% in 2006.
- What is the lowest prevalence of stunting, height for age recorded in Timor-Leste?
- The lowest recorded value was 45.2% in 2023.
- How does Timor-Leste rank for prevalence of stunting, height for age?
- Timor-Leste ranks 7th out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of stunting, height for age rising or falling in Timor-Leste?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Timor-Leste 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
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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.