Prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Peru

Peru: Prevalence of wasting, weight for height was 0.6% in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
0.6%
Change on year
up 20.0%
World rank
95th
of 99 countries
All-time high
1.9%
in 1991
All-time low
0.4%
in 2011
Years of data
24
1991–2023

Prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Peru, 1991–2023

0.511.521991200720231991: 1.9 % of children under 51996: 1.6 % of children under 51997: 0.9 % of children under 51998: 0.9 % of children under 51999: 1.1 % of children under 52000: 1.1 % of children under 52001: 1 % of children under 52005: 1 % of children under 52007: 0.8 % of children under 52009: 0.6 % of children under 52010: 0.7 % of children under 52011: 0.4 % of children under 52012: 0.6 % of children under 52013: 0.4 % of children under 52014: 0.6 % of children under 52015: 0.6 % of children under 52016: 0.6 % of children under 52017: 0.5 % of children under 52018: 0.5 % of children under 52019: 1 % of children under 52020: 0.4 % of children under 52021: 0.4 % of children under 52022: 0.5 % of children under 52023: 0.6 % 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

Peru recorded 0.6% for prevalence of wasting, weight for height in 2023.

That represents a change of up 20.0% on the previous year and up 50.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Peru peaked at 1.9% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 0.4%, in 2011.

That places Peru 95th out of 99 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.

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

Annual values for Prevalence of wasting, weight for height (% of children under 5) in Peru, 1991 to 2023.
Year % of children under 5 Change
1991 1.9%
1996 1.6% -15.8%
1997 0.9% -43.8%
1998 0.9% +0.0%
1999 1.1% +22.2%
2000 1.1% +0.0%
2001 1.0% -9.1%
2005 1.0% +0.0%
2007 0.8% -20.0%
2009 0.6% -25.0%
2010 0.7% +16.7%
2011 0.4% -42.9%
2012 0.6% +50.0%
2013 0.4% -33.3%
2014 0.6% +50.0%
2015 0.6% +0.0%
2016 0.6% +0.0%
2017 0.5% -16.7%
2018 0.5% +0.0%
2019 1.0% +100.0%
2020 0.4% -60.0%
2021 0.4% +0.0%
2022 0.5% +25.0%
2023 0.6% +20.0%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 1.3% 0.9% 1.9% 5
2000s 0.9% 0.6% 1.1% 5
2010s 0.6% 0.4% 1.0% 10
2020s 0.5% 0.4% 0.6% 4

Countries ranked near Peru

  1. 93 Guatemala 0.8% compare
  2. 94 Ecuador 0.7% compare
  3. 96 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 0.4% compare
  4. 97 Chile 0.3% compare
  5. 98 Korea 0.2% compare

See the full ranking of 113 places →

More health data for Peru

All data for Peru →

Frequently asked questions

What is prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Peru?
Prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Peru was 0.6% 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 Peru?
The highest recorded value was 1.9% in 1991.
What is the lowest prevalence of wasting, weight for height recorded in Peru?
The lowest recorded value was 0.4% in 2011.
How does Peru rank for prevalence of wasting, weight for height?
Peru ranks 95th out of 99 countries with data for 2023.
Is prevalence of wasting, weight for height rising or falling in Peru?
Over the last ten years it is up 50.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Peru 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 Peru. 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 12 September 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/prevalence-of-wasting-weight-for-height-percent-of-children-under-5/peru/

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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.