Prevalence of wasting, weight for height (% of children under 5) in Tanzania
Tanzania: Prevalence of wasting, weight for height (% of children under 5) was 3.1% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Tanzania, 1991–2022
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
The most recent figure for prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Tanzania is 3.1%, measured in 2022.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 13.9% on the previous year and down 50.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Tanzania peaked at 8.5% in 1996 and was at its lowest, 2.9%, in 2009.
Tanzania ranks 64th of 99 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 13 years of available data.
Prevalence of wasting, weight for height (% of children under 5) in Tanzania, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 7.8% | — |
| 1996 | 8.5% | +9.0% |
| 1999 | 5.6% | -34.1% |
| 2004 | 3.5% | -37.5% |
| 2009 | 2.9% | -17.1% |
| 2010 | 4.9% | +69.0% |
| 2011 | 6.2% | +26.5% |
| 2013 | 4.4% | -29.0% |
| 2014 | 3.8% | -13.6% |
| 2015 | 4.5% | +18.4% |
| 2018 | 3.5% | -22.2% |
| 2021 | 3.6% | +2.9% |
| 2022 | 3.1% | -13.9% |
Tanzania compared with similar countries
- Tanzania's 3.1% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 5.1%, 61% of the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Tanzania's 3.1% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 5.6%, 56% of the median. (34 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 7.3% | 5.6% | 8.5% | 3 |
| 2000s | 3.2% | 2.9% | 3.5% | 2 |
| 2010s | 4.5% | 3.5% | 6.2% | 6 |
| 2020s | 3.4% | 3.1% | 3.6% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Tanzania
- 62 Jamaica 3.2% compare
- 62 Uganda 3.2% compare
- 64 Kazakhstan 3.1% compare
- 66 Iraq 3.0% compare
- 66 Kyrgyzstan 3.0% compare
More health data for Tanzania
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.03 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.7342 % change on previous year (2090)
- Un projection of annual infant deaths 32,514 (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 13 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 1.86 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.0786 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 1.89 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per capita 0.0805 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Tanzania?
- Prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Tanzania was 3.1% 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 Tanzania?
- The highest recorded value was 8.5% in 1996.
- What is the lowest prevalence of wasting, weight for height recorded in Tanzania?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.9% in 2009.
- How does Tanzania rank for prevalence of wasting, weight for height?
- Tanzania ranks 64th out of 99 countries with data for 2022.
- Is prevalence of wasting, weight for height rising or falling in Tanzania?
- Over the last ten years it is down 50.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Tanzania 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.