Prevalence of wasting, weight for height (% of children under 5) in North America
North America: Prevalence of wasting, weight for height (% of children under 5) was 0.2% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of wasting, weight for height in North America, 2000–2024
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
The most recent figure for prevalence of wasting, weight for height in North America is 0.2%, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
The figure is down 5.9% on the previous year and down 48.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of wasting, weight for height in North America peaked at 0.5% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 0.2%, in 2024.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Prevalence of wasting, weight for height (% of children under 5) in North America, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 0.5% | — |
| 2001 | 0.5% | -1.9% |
| 2002 | 0.5% | -3.8% |
| 2003 | 0.5% | -2.0% |
| 2004 | 0.5% | -4.1% |
| 2005 | 0.5% | -2.1% |
| 2006 | 0.4% | -4.3% |
| 2007 | 0.4% | -4.5% |
| 2008 | 0.4% | -2.4% |
| 2009 | 0.4% | -4.9% |
| 2010 | 0.4% | -2.6% |
| 2011 | 0.4% | -5.3% |
| 2012 | 0.3% | -2.8% |
| 2013 | 0.3% | -5.7% |
| 2014 | 0.3% | -6.1% |
| 2015 | 0.3% | -3.2% |
| 2016 | 0.3% | -6.7% |
| 2017 | 0.3% | -3.6% |
| 2018 | 0.2% | -7.4% |
| 2019 | 0.2% | -4.0% |
| 2020 | 0.2% | -8.3% |
| 2021 | 0.2% | -9.1% |
| 2022 | 0.2% | -5.0% |
| 2023 | 0.2% | -10.5% |
| 2024 | 0.2% | -5.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 5 |
Countries ranked near North America
More health data for North America
- Population ages 40-44, male, annual growth rate 0.825 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 35-39, male, per capita 0.0358 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 40-44, female, annual growth rate 0.6142 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 40-44, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 40-44, female, per capita 0.0326 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 40-44, male, per capita 0.0344 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 45-49, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 45-49, female, annual growth rate 1.98 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 35-39, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 40-44, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of wasting, weight for height in North America?
- Prevalence of wasting, weight for height in North America was 0.2% 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 North America?
- The highest recorded value was 0.5% in 2000.
- What is the lowest prevalence of wasting, weight for height recorded in North America?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2% in 2024.
- How does North America rank for prevalence of wasting, weight for height?
- North America ranks 14th out of 14 groups with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of wasting, weight for height rising or falling in North America?
- Over the last ten years it is down 48.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this North America 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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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.