Prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Maldives

Maldives: Prevalence of wasting, weight for height was 9.1% in 2017. ▼ Falling

Latest (2017)
9.1%
World rank
16th
of 99 countries
All-time high
22.1%
in 1997
All-time low
9.1%
in 2017
Years of data
6
1994–2017

Prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Maldives, 1994–2017

051015201994200520171994: 16.1 % of children under 51995: 18.9 % of children under 51997: 22.1 % of children under 52001: 13.4 % of children under 52009: 10.6 % of children under 52017: 9.1 % 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

Maldives recorded 9.1% for prevalence of wasting, weight for height in 2017. That is the lowest value across all 6 years on record.

That represents a change of down 14.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Maldives peaked at 22.1% in 1997 and was at its lowest, 9.1%, in 2017.

Maldives ranks 16th of 99 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

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

Annual values for Prevalence of wasting, weight for height (% of children under 5) in Maldives, 1994 to 2017.
Year % of children under 5 Change
1994 16.1%
1995 18.9% +17.4%
1997 22.1% +16.9%
2001 13.4% -39.4%
2009 10.6% -20.9%
2017 9.1% -14.2%

Maldives compared with similar countries

  • Maldives's 9.1% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 3.0%, 3.1× the median. (28 countries reporting)
  • Maldives's 9.1% is below the median for South Asia, which is 9.2%, 99% of the median. (6 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 19.0% 16.1% 22.1% 3
2000s 12.0% 10.6% 13.4% 2
2010s 9.1% 9.1% 9.1% 1

Countries ranked near Maldives

  1. 13 Burkina Faso 9.3% compare
  2. 13 Oman 9.3% compare
  3. 13 Sri Lanka 9.3% compare
  4. 17 Indonesia 8.4% compare
  5. 18 Benin 8.3% compare
  6. 18 Timor-Leste 8.3% compare

See the full ranking of 113 places →

More health data for Maldives

All data for Maldives →

Frequently asked questions

What is prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Maldives?
Prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Maldives was 9.1% in 2017, 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 Maldives?
The highest recorded value was 22.1% in 1997.
What is the lowest prevalence of wasting, weight for height recorded in Maldives?
The lowest recorded value was 9.1% in 2017.
How does Maldives rank for prevalence of wasting, weight for height?
Maldives ranks 16th out of 99 countries with data for 2017.
Is prevalence of wasting, weight for height rising or falling in Maldives?
Over the last ten years it is down 14.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Maldives 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 Maldives. 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/maldives/

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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.