Prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Tunisia

Tunisia: Prevalence of wasting, weight for height was 2.1% in 2018. ▼ Falling

Latest (2018)
2.1%
World rank
78th
of 99 countries
All-time high
7.2%
in 1997
All-time low
2.1%
in 2018
Years of data
6
1988–2018

Prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Tunisia, 1988–2018

24681988200320181988: 4.4 % of children under 51997: 7.2 % of children under 52000: 2.9 % of children under 52006: 3.4 % of children under 52012: 2.8 % of children under 52018: 2.1 % 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 2018, prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Tunisia stood at 2.1%. That is the lowest value across all 6 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 38.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Tunisia peaked at 7.2% in 1997 and was at its lowest, 2.1%, in 2018.

That places Tunisia 78th out of 99 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the bottom quarter.

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

Annual values for Prevalence of wasting, weight for height (% of children under 5) in Tunisia, 1988 to 2018.
Year % of children under 5 Change
1988 4.4%
1997 7.2% +63.6%
2000 2.9% -59.7%
2006 3.4% +17.2%
2012 2.8% -17.6%
2018 2.1% -25.0%

Tunisia compared with similar countries

  • Tunisia's 2.1% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 5.1%, 41% of the median. (38 countries reporting)
  • Tunisia's 2.1% is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 3.5%, 59% of the median. (16 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 4.4% 4.4% 4.4% 1
1990s 7.2% 7.2% 7.2% 1
2000s 3.1% 2.9% 3.4% 2
2010s 2.5% 2.1% 2.8% 2

Countries ranked near Tunisia

  1. 75 Jordan 2.3% compare
  2. 76 Dominican Republic 2.2% compare
  3. 76 Nicaragua 2.2% compare
  4. 79 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 2.0% compare
  5. 80 China 1.9% compare
  6. 80 Honduras 1.9% compare

See the full ranking of 113 places →

More health data for Tunisia

All data for Tunisia →

Frequently asked questions

What is prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Tunisia?
Prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Tunisia was 2.1% in 2018, 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 Tunisia?
The highest recorded value was 7.2% in 1997.
What is the lowest prevalence of wasting, weight for height recorded in Tunisia?
The lowest recorded value was 2.1% in 2018.
How does Tunisia rank for prevalence of wasting, weight for height?
Tunisia ranks 78th out of 99 countries with data for 2018.
Is prevalence of wasting, weight for height rising or falling in Tunisia?
Over the last ten years it is down 38.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Tunisia 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 — 6 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Tunisia. 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/tunisia/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://health.statizoid.com/stat/prevalence-of-wasting-weight-for-height-percent-of-children-under-5/tunisia/">Prevalence of wasting, weight for height in Tunisia</a> — Statizoid

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.