Prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Middle income

Middle income: Prevalence of wasting, weight for height was 7.0% in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
7.0%
Change on year
down 0.1%
Rank
3rd
of 14 groups
All-time high
8.9%
in 2000
All-time low
7.0%
in 2021
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Middle income, 2000–2024

024682000201220242000: 8.9 % of children under 52001: 8.9 % of children under 52002: 8.8 % of children under 52003: 8.7 % of children under 52004: 8.6 % of children under 52005: 8.5 % of children under 52006: 8.4 % of children under 52007: 8.3 % of children under 52008: 8.2 % of children under 52009: 8.1 % of children under 52010: 7.9 % of children under 52011: 7.8 % of children under 52012: 7.7 % of children under 52013: 7.6 % of children under 52014: 7.5 % of children under 52015: 7.4 % of children under 52016: 7.3 % of children under 52017: 7.2 % of children under 52018: 7.1 % of children under 52019: 7.1 % of children under 52020: 7 % of children under 52021: 7 % of children under 52022: 7 % of children under 52023: 7 % of children under 52024: 7 % 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

In 2024, prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Middle income stood at 7.0%. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.1% on the previous year and down 6.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Middle income peaked at 8.9% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 7.0%, in 2021.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.

Prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Middle income, year by year

Annual values for Prevalence of wasting, weight for height (% of children under 5) in Middle income, 2000 to 2024.
Year % of children under 5 Change
2000 8.9%
2001 8.9% -0.8%
2002 8.8% -0.9%
2003 8.7% -0.9%
2004 8.6% -1.0%
2005 8.5% -1.2%
2006 8.4% -1.2%
2007 8.3% -1.4%
2008 8.2% -1.4%
2009 8.1% -1.5%
2010 7.9% -1.4%
2011 7.8% -1.4%
2012 7.7% -1.4%
2013 7.6% -1.6%
2014 7.5% -1.3%
2015 7.4% -1.5%
2016 7.3% -1.2%
2017 7.2% -1.2%
2018 7.1% -1.0%
2019 7.1% -0.8%
2020 7.0% -0.4%
2021 7.0% -0.3%
2022 7.0% +0.0%
2023 7.0% +0.1%
2024 7.0% -0.1%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 8.5% 8.1% 8.9% 10
2010s 7.5% 7.1% 7.9% 10
2020s 7.0% 7.0% 7.0% 5

Countries ranked near Middle income

  1. 1 India 18.7% compare
  2. 2 Yemen 16.8% compare
  3. 3 Mauritania 13.6% compare
  4. 4 Djibouti 12.1% compare
  5. 5 Nigeria 11.6% compare
  6. 6 Syrian Arab Republic 11.5% compare

See the full ranking of 113 places →

More health data for Middle income

All data for Middle income →

Frequently asked questions

What is prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Middle income?
Prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Middle income was 7.0% in 2024, 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 Middle income?
The highest recorded value was 8.9% in 2000.
What is the lowest prevalence of wasting, weight for height recorded in Middle income?
The lowest recorded value was 7.0% in 2021.
How does Middle income rank for prevalence of wasting, weight for height?
Middle income ranks 3rd out of 14 groups with data for 2024.
Is prevalence of wasting, weight for height rising or falling in Middle income?
Over the last ten years it is down 6.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Middle income 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 Middle income. 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/middle-income/

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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.