Prevalence of wasting, weight for height, female (% of children under 5) by country
Prevalence of wasting, female, is the proportion of girls under age 5 whose weight for height is more than two standard deviations below the median for the international reference population ages 0-59 months.
Countries reporting
86
Highest
17.9%
India
Lowest
0.0%
United States of America
Median
4.0%
Years covered
39
1986–2024
Data points
749
What the numbers show
Prevalence of wasting, weight for height, female (% of children under 5) is currently reported for 86 countries. The highest value is 17.9% in India; the lowest is 0.0% in United States of America.
The median across all reporting countries is 4.0%, and the mean is 4.8%.
Over the past decade 32 countries rose and 52 fell. The largest increase was in Türkiye (up 300.0%), and the largest decrease in United States of America (down 100.0%).
Prevalence of wasting, weight for height, female: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India | 17.9% | 2020 | down 6.8% | falling |
| 2 | Sri Lanka | 14.8% | 2016 | up 8.0% | rising |
| 3 | Yemen | 14.6% | 2022 | up 24.8% | falling |
| 4 | Bangladesh | 11.1% | 2022 | up 0.9% | falling |
| 5 | Lao People's Democratic Republic | 10.8% | 2023 | up 100.0% | falling |
| 6 | Djibouti | 10.7% | 2023 | down 13.7% | falling |
| 6 | Mauritania | 10.7% | 2022 | up 4.9% | falling |
| 8 | Nigeria | 10.6% | 2021 | up 11.6% | falling |
| 9 | Malaysia | 10.2% | 2022 | up 52.2% | falling |
| 10 | Oman | 10.0% | 2017 | up 66.7% | rising |
| 11 | Niger | 9.7% | 2022 | down 20.5% | falling |
| 12 | Senegal | 8.8% | 2023 | up 8.6% | rising |
| 13 | Cambodia | 8.2% | 2021 | down 22.6% | falling |
| 14 | Maldives | 8.1% | 2017 | down 23.6% | falling |
| 15 | Burkina Faso | 8.0% | 2021 | down 10.1% | falling |
| 16 | Benin | 7.5% | 2021 | up 78.6% | falling |
| 16 | Indonesia | 7.5% | 2023 | down 40.9% | falling |
| 18 | Côte d'Ivoire | 7.1% | 2021 | up 65.1% | falling |
| 18 | Guinea-Bissau | 7.1% | 2019 | up 42.0% | falling |
| 20 | Congo, Democratic Republic of the | 6.9% | 2023 | unchanged | falling |
| 21 | Chad | 6.8% | 2022 | down 55.3% | falling |
| 22 | Pakistan | 6.6% | 2018 | down 53.2% | falling |
| 22 | Timor-Leste | 6.6% | 2020 | down 61.8% | falling |
| 24 | Thailand | 6.5% | 2022 | up 6.6% | rising |
| 25 | Madagascar | 6.4% | 2021 | up 20.8% | falling |
| 26 | Nepal | 6.3% | 2022 | down 37.0% | falling |
| 27 | Burundi | 5.9% | 2024 | down 20.3% | falling |
| 28 | Myanmar | 5.8% | 2018 | down 18.3% | falling |
| 28 | Tajikistan | 5.8% | 2023 | down 41.4% | falling |
| 30 | Sierra Leone | 5.7% | 2021 | down 14.9% | falling |
| 31 | Guyana | 5.6% | 2019 | up 47.4% | falling |
| 31 | Guinea | 5.6% | 2022 | down 41.1% | falling |
| 33 | Philippines | 5.5% | 2021 | down 19.1% | falling |
| 34 | Togo | 5.3% | 2017 | down 10.2% | falling |
| 35 | Azerbaijan | 5.2% | 2023 | up 147.6% | falling |
| 36 | Ethiopia | 5.1% | 2019 | down 38.6% | falling |
| 37 | Armenia | 5.0% | 2016 | down 2.0% | rising |
| 37 | Ghana | 5.0% | 2022 | down 3.8% | falling |
| 39 | Haiti | 4.5% | 2023 | down 18.2% | falling |
| 40 | Mali | 4.4% | 2024 | down 65.1% | falling |
| 41 | Central African Republic | 4.3% | 2022 | down 29.5% | falling |
| 42 | Gambia | 4.1% | 2020 | down 54.4% | falling |
| 43 | Kenya | 4.0% | 2022 | down 23.1% | falling |
| 43 | Russian Federation | 4.0% | 2005 | down 9.1% | falling |
| 45 | Viet Nam | 3.9% | 2010 | down 23.5% | rising |
| 46 | Zambia | 3.7% | 2018 | down 27.5% | falling |
| 47 | Cameroon | 3.6% | 2018 | down 47.8% | falling |
| 48 | Afghanistan | 3.5% | 2022 | down 59.8% | volatile |
| 49 | Saudi Arabia | 3.4% | 2020 | down 12.8% | volatile |
| 50 | Kazakhstan | 3.3% | 2015 | down 26.7% | falling |
| 51 | Egypt | 3.2% | 2021 | down 54.9% | rising |
| 51 | Mozambique | 3.2% | 2022 | down 42.9% | falling |
| 51 | Liberia | 3.2% | 2019 | unchanged | falling |
| 54 | Jamaica | 3.1% | 2018 | up 14.8% | falling |
| 54 | Kyrgyzstan | 3.1% | 2023 | up 14.8% | flat |
| 56 | Zimbabwe | 2.8% | 2019 | up 47.4% | volatile |
| 57 | Uganda | 2.7% | 2022 | down 27.0% | falling |
| 57 | El Salvador | 2.7% | 2021 | up 285.7% | rising |
| 57 | Kuwait | 2.7% | 2023 | up 12.5% | falling |
| 60 | Jordan | 2.5% | 2023 | up 4.2% | falling |
| 61 | Malawi | 2.4% | 2020 | down 36.8% | volatile |
| 61 | Algeria | 2.4% | 2019 | down 44.2% | falling |
| 63 | Tanzania, United Republic of | 2.3% | 2022 | down 65.2% | falling |
| 64 | Nicaragua | 2.1% | 2012 | up 10.5% | falling |
| 65 | China | 1.9% | 2013 | down 29.6% | falling |
| 65 | Uzbekistan | 1.9% | 2021 | down 47.2% | volatile |
| 65 | Morocco | 1.9% | 2019 | up 5.6% | volatile |
| 68 | Honduras | 1.8% | 2019 | up 63.6% | flat |
| 69 | Dominican Republic | 1.7% | 2019 | down 19.0% | rising |
| 70 | Colombia | 1.6% | 2016 | up 6.7% | rising |
| 70 | Türkiye | 1.6% | 2018 | up 300.0% | volatile |
| 72 | Eswatini | 1.5% | 2021 | up 50.0% | falling |
| 73 | Rwanda | 1.4% | 2020 | down 41.7% | volatile |
| 73 | Bolivia, Plurinational State of | 1.4% | 2016 | up 75.0% | falling |
| 75 | Palestine, State of | 1.3% | 2020 | down 59.4% | falling |
| 76 | Uruguay | 1.1% | 2018 | up 37.5% | volatile |
| 77 | Paraguay | 0.9% | 2016 | up 80.0% | volatile |
| 78 | Mongolia | 0.8% | 2018 | down 38.5% | volatile |
| 79 | Ecuador | 0.6% | 2024 | down 57.1% | volatile |
| 79 | Mexico | 0.6% | 2022 | down 57.1% | volatile |
| 79 | Guatemala | 0.6% | 2021 | down 40.0% | volatile |
| 82 | Peru | 0.5% | 2023 | up 66.7% | volatile |
| 83 | Lesotho | 0.4% | 2024 | down 87.1% | volatile |
| 84 | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | 0.3% | 2019 | down 25.0% | volatile |
| 85 | Korea | 0.2% | 2020 | down 33.3% | volatile |
| 86 | United States of America | 0.0% | 2018 | down 100.0% | volatile |
About this data
Prevalence of wasting, female, is the proportion of girls under age 5 whose weight for height is more than two standard deviations below the median for the international reference population ages 0-59 months.