Prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Kuwait
Kuwait: Prevalence of wasting, weight for height was 3.5% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Kuwait, 1996–2023
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
In 2023, prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Kuwait stood at 3.5%. That is the highest value across all 24 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.9% on the previous year and up 25.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Kuwait peaked at 3.5% in 2007 and was at its lowest, 1.7%, in 1996.
Kuwait ranks 56th of 99 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Kuwait, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 1.7% | — |
| 2001 | 2.1% | +23.5% |
| 2002 | 2.2% | +4.8% |
| 2003 | 2.6% | +18.2% |
| 2004 | 3.4% | +30.8% |
| 2005 | 3.3% | -2.9% |
| 2006 | 3.0% | -9.1% |
| 2007 | 3.5% | +16.7% |
| 2008 | 2.3% | -34.3% |
| 2009 | 1.8% | -21.7% |
| 2010 | 2.4% | +33.3% |
| 2011 | 1.7% | -29.2% |
| 2012 | 2.4% | +41.2% |
| 2013 | 2.8% | +16.7% |
| 2014 | 2.5% | -10.7% |
| 2015 | 3.0% | +20.0% |
| 2016 | 2.3% | -23.3% |
| 2017 | 2.4% | +4.3% |
| 2018 | 2.2% | -8.3% |
| 2019 | 1.7% | -22.7% |
| 2020 | 1.9% | +11.8% |
| 2021 | 3.2% | +68.4% |
| 2022 | 3.4% | +6.2% |
| 2023 | 3.5% | +2.9% |
Kuwait compared with similar countries
- Kuwait's 3.5% is above the median for high income countries, which is 2.5%, 1.4× the median. (12 countries reporting)
- Kuwait's 3.5% is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 3.5%, 99% of the median. (16 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.7% | 1.7% | 1.7% | 1 |
| 2000s | 2.7% | 1.8% | 3.5% | 9 |
| 2010s | 2.3% | 1.7% | 3.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.0% | 1.9% | 3.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Kuwait
- 53 Mozambique 3.8% compare
- 54 Afghanistan 3.6% compare
- 54 South Africa 3.6% compare
- 56 Azerbaijan 3.5% compare
- 56 Romania 3.5% compare
- 59 Liberia 3.4% compare
More health data for Kuwait
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -0.9259 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 1.41 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 287.2 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 107 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -0.9273 % 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 0.0264 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate -0.6875 % 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 Kuwait?
- Prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Kuwait was 3.5% in 2023, 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 Kuwait?
- The highest recorded value was 3.5% in 2007.
- What is the lowest prevalence of wasting, weight for height recorded in Kuwait?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.7% in 1996.
- How does Kuwait rank for prevalence of wasting, weight for height?
- Kuwait ranks 56th out of 99 countries with data for 2023.
- Is prevalence of wasting, weight for height rising or falling in Kuwait?
- Over the last ten years it is up 25.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Kuwait 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
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.