Prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Mauritania
Mauritania: Prevalence of wasting, weight for height was 13.6% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Mauritania, 1988–2022
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
Mauritania recorded 13.6% for prevalence of wasting, weight for height in 2022.
That represents a change of up 34.7% on the previous year and up 16.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Mauritania peaked at 19.1% in 1988 and was at its lowest, 6.4%, in 2020.
That places Mauritania 3rd out of 99 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 13 years of available data.
Prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Mauritania, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 19.1% | — |
| 1996 | 8.7% | -54.5% |
| 2000 | 15.3% | +75.9% |
| 2007 | 13.6% | -11.1% |
| 2008 | 8.1% | -40.4% |
| 2011 | 13.9% | +71.6% |
| 2012 | 11.7% | -15.8% |
| 2015 | 14.8% | +26.5% |
| 2018 | 11.5% | -22.3% |
| 2019 | 11.1% | -3.5% |
| 2020 | 6.4% | -42.3% |
| 2021 | 10.1% | +57.8% |
| 2022 | 13.6% | +34.7% |
Mauritania compared with similar countries
- Mauritania's 13.6% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 5.1%, 2.7× the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Mauritania's 13.6% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 5.6%, 2.5× the median. (34 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 19.1% | 19.1% | 19.1% | 1 |
| 1990s | 8.7% | 8.7% | 8.7% | 1 |
| 2000s | 12.3% | 8.1% | 15.3% | 3 |
| 2010s | 12.6% | 11.1% | 14.8% | 5 |
| 2020s | 10.0% | 6.4% | 13.6% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Mauritania
More health data for Mauritania
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -0.8878 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 1.19 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 653 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 1,563 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 1.77 % 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 0.077 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 1.77 % 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 Mauritania?
- Prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Mauritania was 13.6% 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 Mauritania?
- The highest recorded value was 19.1% in 1988.
- What is the lowest prevalence of wasting, weight for height recorded in Mauritania?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.4% in 2020.
- How does Mauritania rank for prevalence of wasting, weight for height?
- Mauritania ranks 3rd out of 99 countries with data for 2022.
- Is prevalence of wasting, weight for height rising or falling in Mauritania?
- Over the last ten years it is up 16.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Mauritania 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 — 13 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.