Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Tonga
Tonga: Prevalence of stunting, height for age was 1.6% in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Tonga, 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 Tonga is 1.6%, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of down 5.9% on the previous year and down 71.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of stunting, height for age in Tonga peaked at 13.7% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 1.6%, in 2024.
That places Tonga 157th out of 162 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Tonga, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 13.7% | — |
| 2001 | 13.3% | -2.9% |
| 2002 | 12.9% | -3.0% |
| 2003 | 12.4% | -3.9% |
| 2004 | 11.8% | -4.8% |
| 2005 | 11.2% | -5.1% |
| 2006 | 10.6% | -5.4% |
| 2007 | 9.9% | -6.6% |
| 2008 | 9.3% | -6.1% |
| 2009 | 8.8% | -5.4% |
| 2010 | 8.3% | -5.7% |
| 2011 | 7.7% | -7.2% |
| 2012 | 7.1% | -7.8% |
| 2013 | 6.4% | -9.9% |
| 2014 | 5.7% | -10.9% |
| 2015 | 5.0% | -12.3% |
| 2016 | 4.3% | -14.0% |
| 2017 | 3.7% | -14.0% |
| 2018 | 3.2% | -13.5% |
| 2019 | 2.8% | -12.5% |
| 2020 | 2.4% | -14.3% |
| 2021 | 2.1% | -12.5% |
| 2022 | 1.9% | -9.5% |
| 2023 | 1.7% | -10.5% |
| 2024 | 1.6% | -5.9% |
Tonga compared with similar countries
- Tonga's 1.6% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 8.0%, 20% of the median. (54 countries reporting)
- Tonga's 1.6% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 16.0%, 10% of the median. (27 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 11.4% | 8.8% | 13.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.4% | 2.8% | 8.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.9% | 1.6% | 2.4% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Tonga
More health data for Tonga
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -33.33 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 2.33 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 834.5 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 2 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -1.42 % 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 0.0535 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate -1.36 % 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 Tonga?
- Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Tonga was 1.6% 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 Tonga?
- The highest recorded value was 13.7% in 2000.
- What is the lowest prevalence of stunting, height for age recorded in Tonga?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.6% in 2024.
- How does Tonga rank for prevalence of stunting, height for age?
- Tonga ranks 157th out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of stunting, height for age rising or falling in Tonga?
- Over the last ten years it is down 71.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Tonga 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.