Prevalence of stunting, height for age in India
India: Prevalence of stunting, height for age was 35.5% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of stunting, height for age in India, 1989–2020
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
India recorded 35.5% for prevalence of stunting, height for age in 2020. That is the lowest value across all 10 years on record.
That represents a change of down 1.7% on the previous year and down 25.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of stunting, height for age in India peaked at 62.7% in 1989 and was at its lowest, 35.5%, in 2020.
That places India 14th out of 97 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 10 years of available data.
Prevalence of stunting, height for age in India, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 62.7% | — |
| 1991 | 61.9% | -1.3% |
| 1992 | 57.1% | -7.8% |
| 1997 | 45.9% | -19.6% |
| 1999 | 51.0% | +11.1% |
| 2006 | 47.8% | -6.3% |
| 2014 | 38.7% | -19.0% |
| 2015 | 37.9% | -2.1% |
| 2017 | 36.1% | -4.7% |
| 2020 | 35.5% | -1.7% |
India compared with similar countries
- India's 35.5% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 22.7%, 1.6× the median. (38 countries reporting)
- India's 35.5% is above the median for South Asia, which is 20.8%, 1.7× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 62.7% | 62.7% | 62.7% | 1 |
| 1990s | 54.0% | 45.9% | 61.9% | 4 |
| 2000s | 47.8% | 47.8% | 47.8% | 1 |
| 2010s | 37.6% | 36.1% | 38.7% | 3 |
| 2020s | 35.5% | 35.5% | 35.5% | 1 |
Countries ranked near India
More health data for India
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -2.12 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.4372 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,332 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 44,822 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 38 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -0.3809 % 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 0.0372 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate -0.5922 % 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 India?
- Prevalence of stunting, height for age in India was 35.5% in 2020, 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 India?
- The highest recorded value was 62.7% in 1989.
- What is the lowest prevalence of stunting, height for age recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 35.5% in 2020.
- How does India rank for prevalence of stunting, height for age?
- India ranks 14th out of 97 countries with data for 2020.
- Is prevalence of stunting, height for age rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is down 25.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this India 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 — 10 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.