Prevalence of stunting, height for age (% of children under 5) by country
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...
What the numbers show
Prevalence of stunting, height for age (% of children under 5) is currently reported for 97 countries. The highest value is 52.8% in Burundi; the lowest is 0.9% in South Korea.
The median across all reporting countries is 18.2%, and the mean is 20.6%.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 59.
Over the past decade 17 countries rose and 78 fell. The largest increase was in United States (up 72.7%), and the largest decrease in Uzbekistan (down 66.8%).
Prevalence of stunting, height for age (% of children under 5): full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burundi | 52.8% | 2024 | up 1.5% | flat |
| 2 | Yemen | 48.5% | 2022 | up 4.1% | falling |
| 3 | Niger | 47.7% | 2022 | up 19.5% | flat |
| 4 | East Timor | 46.7% | 2020 | down 18.8% | falling |
| 5 | Guatemala | 46.0% | 2021 | down 10.7% | falling |
| 6 | Democratic Republic of Congo | 44.7% | 2023 | up 4.7% | falling |
| 7 | Afghanistan | 44.6% | 2022 | up 10.4% | falling |
| 8 | Madagascar | 39.8% | 2021 | down 20.2% | falling |
| 9 | Central African Republic | 37.9% | 2022 | down 4.5% | falling |
| 10 | Pakistan | 37.6% | 2018 | down 13.8% | falling |
| 11 | Ethiopia | 36.8% | 2019 | down 17.1% | falling |
| 12 | Mozambique | 36.7% | 2022 | down 14.5% | falling |
| 13 | Lesotho | 35.6% | 2024 | up 6.6% | falling |
| 14 | India | 35.5% | 2020 | down 25.7% | falling |
| 14 | Malawi | 35.5% | 2020 | down 24.9% | falling |
| 16 | Zambia | 34.6% | 2018 | down 24.5% | falling |
| 17 | Benin | 34.1% | 2021 | down 8.8% | flat |
| 18 | Nigeria | 33.8% | 2021 | down 5.6% | falling |
| 19 | Rwanda | 33.1% | 2020 | down 25.3% | falling |
| 20 | Laos | 32.8% | 2023 | down 25.8% | falling |
| 21 | Chad | 31.9% | 2022 | down 17.6% | falling |
| 22 | Tanzania | 30.0% | 2022 | down 14.3% | falling |
| 23 | Liberia | 29.8% | 2019 | down 17.5% | falling |
| 24 | Cameroon | 28.9% | 2018 | down 23.1% | falling |
| 25 | Guinea-Bissau | 28.1% | 2019 | up 1.8% | falling |
| 26 | Syria | 27.9% | 2010 | up 14.8% | falling |
| 27 | Myanmar | 26.7% | 2018 | down 23.9% | falling |
| 27 | Philippines | 26.7% | 2021 | down 20.1% | falling |
| 29 | Sierra Leone | 26.3% | 2021 | down 19.6% | falling |
| 30 | Guinea | 26.1% | 2022 | down 16.1% | falling |
| 31 | Zimbabwe | 25.9% | 2024 | down 6.2% | falling |
| 32 | Djibouti | 25.5% | 2023 | down 8.9% | falling |
| 33 | Mali | 25.1% | 2024 | down 10.7% | falling |
| 33 | Mauritania | 25.1% | 2022 | up 8.2% | falling |
| 35 | Nepal | 24.8% | 2022 | down 38.2% | falling |
| 36 | Uganda | 24.4% | 2022 | down 27.6% | falling |
| 37 | Togo | 23.8% | 2017 | down 20.4% | falling |
| 38 | Bangladesh | 23.6% | 2022 | down 36.2% | falling |
| 39 | Cote d'Ivoire | 23.4% | 2021 | down 14.0% | flat |
| 40 | Haiti | 22.0% | 2023 | up 0.5% | falling |
| 40 | Indonesia | 22.0% | 2023 | down 39.6% | falling |
| 42 | Cambodia | 21.9% | 2021 | down 45.0% | falling |
| 43 | South Africa | 21.3% | 2017 | down 14.8% | falling |
| 44 | Malaysia | 21.2% | 2022 | up 19.1% | rising |
| 45 | Burkina Faso | 21.1% | 2021 | down 39.0% | falling |
| 46 | Eswatini | 20.0% | 2021 | down 35.3% | falling |
| 47 | North Korea | 19.1% | 2017 | down 41.0% | falling |
| 48 | Honduras | 18.7% | 2019 | down 37.2% | falling |
| 49 | Comoros | 18.2% | 2022 | down 41.5% | falling |
| 49 | Vietnam | 18.2% | 2023 | down 29.7% | falling |
| 51 | Bhutan | 17.9% | 2023 | down 46.6% | falling |
| 52 | Kenya | 17.6% | 2022 | down 33.1% | falling |
| 53 | Gambia | 17.5% | 2020 | down 25.2% | falling |
| 53 | Senegal | 17.5% | 2023 | up 6.1% | falling |
| 55 | Ecuador | 17.4% | 2024 | down 27.2% | falling |
| 55 | Ghana | 17.4% | 2022 | down 23.7% | falling |
| 57 | Nicaragua | 17.3% | 2012 | down 31.1% | falling |
| 58 | Bolivia | 16.1% | 2016 | down 40.6% | falling |
| 59 | Maldives | 15.3% | 2017 | down 19.5% | falling |
| 60 | Morocco | 14.2% | 2019 | down 4.7% | falling |
| 61 | Kyrgyzstan | 14.1% | 2023 | down 21.2% | falling |
| 62 | Tajikistan | 13.7% | 2023 | down 49.1% | falling |
| 63 | Venezuela | 13.4% | 2009 | down 26.8% | flat |
| 64 | Egypt | 12.8% | 2021 | down 58.3% | falling |
| 64 | Romania | 12.8% | 2002 | up 14.3% | rising |
| 66 | Colombia | 12.7% | 2016 | down 20.6% | falling |
| 67 | Iraq | 12.6% | 2018 | down 54.2% | falling |
| 68 | Mexico | 12.5% | 2022 | down 8.1% | falling |
| 69 | Thailand | 12.4% | 2022 | down 24.4% | falling |
| 70 | Peru | 11.5% | 2023 | down 34.7% | falling |
| 71 | Oman | 11.4% | 2017 | up 16.3% | falling |
| 72 | Saudi Arabia | 10.8% | 2020 | down 21.2% | falling |
| 73 | Sri Lanka | 10.5% | 2024 | down 28.1% | falling |
| 74 | El Salvador | 10.0% | 2021 | down 51.9% | falling |
| 75 | Algeria | 9.8% | 2019 | down 36.4% | falling |
| 76 | Guyana | 9.5% | 2019 | down 50.8% | falling |
| 77 | Armenia | 9.4% | 2016 | down 47.5% | falling |
| 78 | Mongolia | 8.8% | 2023 | down 18.5% | falling |
| 79 | Palestine | 8.7% | 2020 | down 20.2% | falling |
| 80 | Tunisia | 8.4% | 2018 | down 6.7% | falling |
| 81 | Jordan | 8.2% | 2023 | up 5.1% | falling |
| 82 | Kazakhstan | 8.0% | 2015 | down 54.3% | falling |
| 83 | Uruguay | 6.9% | 2018 | down 41.5% | falling |
| 84 | Dominican Republic | 6.7% | 2019 | down 33.7% | falling |
| 85 | Azerbaijan | 6.6% | 2023 | down 62.9% | falling |
| 86 | Uzbekistan | 6.5% | 2021 | down 66.8% | volatile |
| 87 | Turkey | 6.0% | 2018 | down 52.0% | falling |
| 88 | Iran | 4.8% | 2017 | down 32.4% | volatile |
| 88 | China | 4.8% | 2017 | down 51.0% | volatile |
| 90 | Jamaica | 4.6% | 2018 | down 33.3% | falling |
| 91 | United States | 3.8% | 2022 | up 72.7% | rising |
| 92 | Kuwait | 3.2% | 2023 | down 42.9% | rising |
| 93 | Finland | 2.8% | 2023 | up 55.6% | rising |
| 94 | United Kingdom | 2.0% | 2019 | unchanged | flat |
| 95 | Chile | 1.8% | 2014 | down 25.0% | volatile |
| 96 | Belarus | 1.2% | 2023 | — | volatile |
| 97 | South Korea | 0.9% | 2020 | down 30.8% | falling |
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.