Prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Bangladesh
Bangladesh: Prevalence of wasting, weight for height was 10.7% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Bangladesh, 1986–2022
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
Bangladesh recorded 10.7% for prevalence of wasting, weight for height in 2022.
That represents a change of up 9.2% on the previous year and down 2.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Bangladesh peaked at 20.7% in 1997 and was at its lowest, 8.4%, in 2018.
That places Bangladesh 9th out of 99 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 27 years of available data.
Prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Bangladesh, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | 17.3% | — |
| 1990 | 17.5% | +1.2% |
| 1991 | 15.2% | -13.1% |
| 1992 | 16.1% | +5.9% |
| 1993 | 14.0% | -13.0% |
| 1994 | 16.7% | +19.3% |
| 1995 | 15.1% | -9.6% |
| 1996 | 15.5% | +2.6% |
| 1997 | 20.7% | +33.5% |
| 1998 | 15.0% | -27.5% |
| 1999 | 13.7% | -8.7% |
| 2000 | 12.5% | -8.8% |
| 2001 | 12.7% | +1.6% |
| 2002 | 12.4% | -2.4% |
| 2003 | 12.5% | +0.8% |
| 2004 | 14.6% | +16.8% |
| 2005 | 14.5% | -0.7% |
| 2006 | 11.9% | -17.9% |
| 2007 | 17.5% | +47.1% |
| 2011 | 15.7% | -10.3% |
| 2012 | 11.0% | -29.9% |
| 2013 | 9.6% | -12.7% |
| 2014 | 14.4% | +50.0% |
| 2015 | 10.0% | -30.6% |
| 2018 | 8.4% | -16.0% |
| 2019 | 9.8% | +16.7% |
| 2022 | 10.7% | +9.2% |
Bangladesh compared with similar countries
- Bangladesh's 10.7% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 5.1%, 2.1× the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Bangladesh's 10.7% is above the median for South Asia, which is 9.2%, 1.2× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 17.3% | 17.3% | 17.3% | 1 |
| 1990s | 15.9% | 13.7% | 20.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 13.6% | 11.9% | 17.5% | 8 |
| 2010s | 11.3% | 8.4% | 15.7% | 7 |
| 2020s | 10.7% | 10.7% | 10.7% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Bangladesh
More health data for Bangladesh
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -2.36 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 1.15 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,153 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 4,062 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 35 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 0.8772 % 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 0.0468 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 0.7714 % 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 wasting, weight for height in Bangladesh?
- Prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Bangladesh was 10.7% in 2022, 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 wasting, weight for height recorded in Bangladesh?
- The highest recorded value was 20.7% in 1997.
- What is the lowest prevalence of wasting, weight for height recorded in Bangladesh?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.4% in 2018.
- How does Bangladesh rank for prevalence of wasting, weight for height?
- Bangladesh ranks 9th out of 99 countries with data for 2022.
- Is prevalence of wasting, weight for height rising or falling in Bangladesh?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Bangladesh 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 wasting, weight for height (% of children under 5). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Prevalence of wasting is the proportion of children 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.