Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Egypt
Egypt: Prevalence of stunting, height for age was 12.8% in 2021. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Egypt, 1988–2021
Source: UNICEF, WHO, World Bank: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME). Aggregation is based on UNICEF, WHO, and the World Bank harmonized dataset (adjusted, comparable data) and methodology., UN Children'. Measured in % of children under 5.
Analysis
Egypt recorded 12.8% for prevalence of stunting, height for age in 2021. That is the lowest value across all 12 years on record.
That represents a change of down 58.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of stunting, height for age in Egypt peaked at 34.9% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 12.8%, in 2021.
Egypt ranks 64th of 97 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 12 years of available data.
Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Egypt, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 34.8% | — |
| 1991 | 34.9% | +0.3% |
| 1992 | 31.1% | -10.9% |
| 1995 | 34.8% | +11.9% |
| 1997 | 30.9% | -11.2% |
| 1998 | 26.3% | -14.9% |
| 2000 | 24.4% | -7.2% |
| 2003 | 20.2% | -17.2% |
| 2005 | 23.9% | +18.3% |
| 2008 | 30.7% | +28.5% |
| 2014 | 22.3% | -27.4% |
| 2021 | 12.8% | -42.6% |
Egypt compared with similar countries
- Egypt's 12.8% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 22.7%, 56% of the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Egypt's 12.8% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 12.0%, 1.1× the median. (16 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 34.8% | 34.8% | 34.8% | 1 |
| 1990s | 31.6% | 26.3% | 34.9% | 5 |
| 2000s | 24.8% | 20.2% | 30.7% | 4 |
| 2010s | 22.3% | 22.3% | 22.3% | 1 |
| 2020s | 12.8% | 12.8% | 12.8% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Egypt
- 61 Kyrgyzstan 14.1% compare
- 62 Tajikistan 13.7% compare
- 63 Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of 13.4% compare
- 64 Romania 12.8% compare
- 66 Colombia 12.7% compare
- 67 Iraq 12.6% compare
More health data for Egypt
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.46 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.7884 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 946 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 7,225 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 0.3993 % 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 0.0487 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 0.4524 % 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 Egypt?
- Prevalence of stunting, height for age in Egypt was 12.8% in 2021, according to UNICEF, WHO, World Bank: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME). Aggregation is based on UNICEF, WHO, and the World Bank harmonized dataset (adjusted, comparable data) and methodology., UN Children'.
- What is the highest prevalence of stunting, height for age recorded in Egypt?
- The highest recorded value was 34.9% in 1991.
- What is the lowest prevalence of stunting, height for age recorded in Egypt?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.8% in 2021.
- How does Egypt rank for prevalence of stunting, height for age?
- Egypt ranks 64th out of 97 countries with data for 2021.
- Is prevalence of stunting, height for age rising or falling in Egypt?
- Over the last ten years it is down 58.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Egypt data come from?
- The figures come from UNICEF, WHO, World Bank: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME). Aggregation is based on UNICEF, WHO, and the World Bank harmonized dataset (adjusted, comparable data) and methodology., UN Children', published as part of Prevalence of stunting, height for age (% of children under 5). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 12 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.