Prevalence of wasting, weight for height, male (% of children under 5) by country
Prevalence of wasting, male, is the proportion of boys 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
19.5%
India
Lowest
0.2%
United States of America
Median
4.6%
Years covered
39
1986–2024
Data points
749
What the numbers show
Prevalence of wasting, weight for height, male (% of children under 5) is currently reported for 86 countries. The highest value is 19.5% in India; the lowest is 0.2% in United States of America.
The median across all reporting countries is 4.6%, and the mean is 5.8%.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 98.
Over the past decade 25 countries rose and 57 fell. The largest increase was in Eswatini (up 320.0%), and the largest decrease in United States of America (down 75.0%).
Prevalence of wasting, weight for height, male: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India | 19.5% | 2020 | down 6.2% | falling |
| 2 | Yemen | 19.0% | 2022 | up 28.4% | falling |
| 3 | Sri Lanka | 15.3% | 2016 | down 7.3% | rising |
| 4 | Mauritania | 15.0% | 2022 | up 14.5% | falling |
| 5 | Djibouti | 13.2% | 2023 | down 12.6% | falling |
| 6 | Niger | 12.1% | 2022 | down 17.1% | falling |
| 7 | Malaysia | 11.8% | 2022 | up 25.5% | falling |
| 8 | Nigeria | 11.4% | 2021 | up 3.6% | falling |
| 8 | Senegal | 11.4% | 2023 | up 17.5% | rising |
| 10 | Cambodia | 10.9% | 2021 | down 4.4% | falling |
| 11 | Lao People's Democratic Republic | 10.7% | 2023 | up 67.2% | falling |
| 12 | Burkina Faso | 10.6% | 2021 | down 10.2% | falling |
| 13 | Bangladesh | 10.3% | 2022 | down 6.4% | falling |
| 14 | Maldives | 10.1% | 2017 | down 5.6% | falling |
| 15 | Timor-Leste | 9.9% | 2020 | down 51.5% | falling |
| 16 | Burundi | 9.4% | 2024 | up 14.6% | falling |
| 17 | Indonesia | 9.2% | 2023 | down 35.2% | falling |
| 18 | Côte d'Ivoire | 9.0% | 2021 | up 42.9% | falling |
| 18 | Benin | 9.0% | 2021 | up 52.5% | falling |
| 20 | Oman | 8.7% | 2017 | up 7.4% | flat |
| 20 | Chad | 8.7% | 2022 | down 50.0% | falling |
| 22 | Ethiopia | 8.5% | 2019 | down 24.1% | falling |
| 22 | Guinea-Bissau | 8.5% | 2019 | up 84.8% | falling |
| 24 | Madagascar | 8.1% | 2021 | up 30.6% | falling |
| 25 | Thailand | 7.8% | 2022 | up 5.4% | flat |
| 26 | Pakistan | 7.6% | 2018 | down 51.6% | falling |
| 26 | Nepal | 7.6% | 2022 | down 38.2% | falling |
| 28 | Congo, Democratic Republic of the | 7.4% | 2023 | down 20.4% | falling |
| 29 | Guyana | 7.3% | 2019 | unchanged | falling |
| 30 | Guinea | 7.2% | 2022 | down 30.8% | falling |
| 31 | Sierra Leone | 7.0% | 2021 | down 15.7% | falling |
| 32 | Tajikistan | 6.9% | 2023 | down 30.3% | falling |
| 33 | Myanmar | 6.8% | 2018 | down 21.8% | falling |
| 34 | Ghana | 6.6% | 2022 | down 8.3% | falling |
| 35 | Central African Republic | 6.5% | 2022 | down 25.3% | falling |
| 36 | Mali | 6.3% | 2024 | down 53.7% | falling |
| 37 | Togo | 6.2% | 2017 | up 1.6% | falling |
| 38 | Gambia | 5.9% | 2020 | down 41.6% | falling |
| 39 | Haiti | 5.5% | 2023 | down 20.3% | falling |
| 40 | Philippines | 5.3% | 2021 | down 26.4% | falling |
| 41 | Kenya | 5.0% | 2022 | down 23.1% | falling |
| 41 | Cameroon | 5.0% | 2018 | down 39.0% | flat |
| 43 | Zambia | 4.8% | 2018 | down 20.0% | falling |
| 44 | Saudi Arabia | 4.4% | 2020 | down 6.4% | volatile |
| 44 | Mozambique | 4.4% | 2022 | down 34.3% | falling |
| 46 | Viet Nam | 4.3% | 2010 | down 39.4% | falling |
| 47 | Kuwait | 4.2% | 2023 | up 27.3% | rising |
| 48 | Armenia | 4.0% | 2016 | down 28.6% | rising |
| 49 | Tanzania, United Republic of | 3.9% | 2022 | down 33.9% | falling |
| 50 | Uganda | 3.8% | 2022 | down 20.8% | falling |
| 51 | Afghanistan | 3.7% | 2022 | down 64.1% | volatile |
| 52 | Liberia | 3.6% | 2019 | down 35.7% | falling |
| 53 | Egypt | 3.5% | 2021 | down 60.2% | rising |
| 54 | Jamaica | 3.3% | 2018 | up 43.5% | falling |
| 55 | El Salvador | 3.2% | 2021 | up 33.3% | rising |
| 56 | Zimbabwe | 3.0% | 2019 | up 3.4% | falling |
| 56 | Algeria | 3.0% | 2019 | down 25.0% | falling |
| 58 | Uzbekistan | 2.9% | 2021 | down 44.2% | volatile |
| 58 | Kyrgyzstan | 2.9% | 2023 | down 3.3% | falling |
| 58 | Kazakhstan | 2.9% | 2015 | down 45.3% | falling |
| 61 | Lesotho | 2.8% | 2024 | up 7.7% | falling |
| 62 | Malawi | 2.7% | 2020 | down 37.2% | falling |
| 62 | Morocco | 2.7% | 2019 | down 3.6% | volatile |
| 62 | Russian Federation | 2.7% | 2005 | down 37.2% | falling |
| 65 | Dominican Republic | 2.6% | 2019 | up 4.0% | falling |
| 66 | Bolivia, Plurinational State of | 2.5% | 2016 | up 25.0% | volatile |
| 67 | Nicaragua | 2.2% | 2012 | down 18.5% | volatile |
| 68 | Eswatini | 2.1% | 2021 | up 320.0% | rising |
| 69 | Jordan | 2.0% | 2023 | down 16.7% | volatile |
| 69 | Honduras | 2.0% | 2019 | up 25.0% | falling |
| 71 | China | 1.9% | 2013 | down 42.4% | falling |
| 71 | Azerbaijan | 1.9% | 2023 | down 52.5% | falling |
| 73 | Türkiye | 1.7% | 2018 | up 21.4% | falling |
| 73 | Uruguay | 1.7% | 2018 | down 10.5% | falling |
| 73 | Colombia | 1.7% | 2016 | unchanged | falling |
| 76 | Mexico | 1.4% | 2022 | down 22.2% | volatile |
| 77 | Palestine, State of | 1.3% | 2020 | down 62.9% | falling |
| 78 | Guatemala | 1.0% | 2021 | unchanged | volatile |
| 78 | Paraguay | 1.0% | 2016 | down 37.5% | volatile |
| 78 | Mongolia | 1.0% | 2018 | down 47.4% | volatile |
| 81 | Rwanda | 0.9% | 2020 | down 73.5% | volatile |
| 82 | Ecuador | 0.8% | 2024 | down 55.6% | falling |
| 83 | Peru | 0.7% | 2023 | up 16.7% | falling |
| 84 | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | 0.3% | 2019 | unchanged | falling |
| 85 | Korea | 0.2% | 2020 | down 71.4% | falling |
| 85 | United States of America | 0.2% | 2018 | down 75.0% | falling |
About this data
Prevalence of wasting, male, is the proportion of boys 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.