Prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Guatemala

Guatemala: Prevalence of wasting, weight for height was 0.8% in 2021. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2021)
0.8%
World rank
93rd
of 99 countries
All-time high
3.8%
in 1995
All-time low
0.8%
in 2015
Years of data
8
1987–2021

Prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Guatemala, 1987–2021

12341987200420211987: 2.4 % of children under 51995: 3.8 % of children under 51999: 2.9 % of children under 52000: 3.7 % of children under 52002: 1.9 % of children under 52009: 1 % of children under 52015: 0.8 % of children under 52021: 0.8 % of children under 5

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

Guatemala recorded 0.8% for prevalence of wasting, weight for height in 2021. That is the lowest value across all 8 years on record.

That represents a change of down 20.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Guatemala peaked at 3.8% in 1995 and was at its lowest, 0.8%, in 2015.

That places Guatemala 93rd out of 99 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the bottom quarter.

Prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Guatemala, year by year

Annual values for Prevalence of wasting, weight for height (% of children under 5) in Guatemala, 1987 to 2021.
Year % of children under 5 Change
1987 2.4%
1995 3.8% +58.3%
1999 2.9% -23.7%
2000 3.7% +27.6%
2002 1.9% -48.6%
2009 1.0% -47.4%
2015 0.8% -20.0%
2021 0.8% +0.0%

Guatemala compared with similar countries

  • Guatemala's 0.8% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 3.0%, 27% of the median. (28 countries reporting)
  • Guatemala's 0.8% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 1.9%, 42% of the median. (17 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 2.4% 2.4% 2.4% 1
1990s 3.3% 2.9% 3.8% 2
2000s 2.2% 1.0% 3.7% 3
2010s 0.8% 0.8% 0.8% 1
2020s 0.8% 0.8% 0.8% 1

Countries ranked near Guatemala

  1. 90 Rwanda 1.1% compare
  2. 91 Mexico 1.0% compare
  3. 91 Paraguay 1.0% compare
  4. 94 Ecuador 0.7% compare
  5. 95 Peru 0.6% compare
  6. 96 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 0.4% compare

See the full ranking of 113 places →

More health data for Guatemala

All data for Guatemala →

Frequently asked questions

What is prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Guatemala?
Prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Guatemala was 0.8% 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 wasting, weight for height recorded in Guatemala?
The highest recorded value was 3.8% in 1995.
What is the lowest prevalence of wasting, weight for height recorded in Guatemala?
The lowest recorded value was 0.8% in 2015.
How does Guatemala rank for prevalence of wasting, weight for height?
Guatemala ranks 93rd out of 99 countries with data for 2021.
Is prevalence of wasting, weight for height rising or falling in Guatemala?
Over the last ten years it is down 20.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Guatemala 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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Prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Guatemala. Statizoid, drawing on 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'. Retrieved 15 September 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/prevalence-of-wasting-weight-for-height-percent-of-children-under-5/guatemala/

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About this data

Indicator
Prevalence of wasting, weight for height (% of children under 5)
Unit
% of children under 5
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'
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
113 places, 1,312 data points, 1984–2024
Last refreshed

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.