Stunting prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) in Bulgaria
Bulgaria: Stunting prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) was 5.5% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
5.5%
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
123rd
of 161 countries
All-time high
8.9%
in 2003
All-time low
5.5%
in 2023
Years of data
25
2000–2024
Stunting prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) in Bulgaria, 2000–2024
Source: World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory.
Analysis
In 2024, stunting prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) in Bulgaria stood at 5.5%. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 19.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, stunting prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) in Bulgaria peaked at 8.9% in 2003 and was at its lowest, 5.5%, in 2023.
That places Bulgaria 123rd out of 161 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Stunting prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) in Bulgaria, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 8.7% | — |
| 2001 | 8.7% | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 8.8% | +1.1% |
| 2003 | 8.9% | +1.1% |
| 2004 | 8.9% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 8.8% | -1.1% |
| 2006 | 8.7% | -1.1% |
| 2007 | 8.5% | -2.3% |
| 2008 | 8.3% | -2.4% |
| 2009 | 8.0% | -3.6% |
| 2010 | 7.7% | -3.7% |
| 2011 | 7.4% | -3.9% |
| 2012 | 7.2% | -2.7% |
| 2013 | 7.0% | -2.8% |
| 2014 | 6.8% | -2.9% |
| 2015 | 6.7% | -1.5% |
| 2016 | 6.5% | -3.0% |
| 2017 | 6.4% | -1.5% |
| 2018 | 6.1% | -4.7% |
| 2019 | 6.0% | -1.6% |
| 2020 | 5.8% | -3.3% |
| 2021 | 5.6% | -3.4% |
| 2022 | 5.6% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 5.5% | -1.8% |
| 2024 | 5.5% | +0.0% |
Bulgaria compared with similar countries
- Bulgaria's 5.5% is above the median for high income countries, which is 3.5%, 1.6× the median. (37 countries reporting)
- Bulgaria's 5.5% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 4.3%, 1.3× the median. (32 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 8.6% | 8.0% | 8.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.8% | 6.0% | 7.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.6% | 5.5% | 5.8% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Bulgaria
More health data for Bulgaria
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -2.5 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate -0.615 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,422 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 39 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 0.2564 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.0222 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 0.3643 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is stunting prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) in Bulgaria?
- Stunting prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) in Bulgaria was 5.5% in 2024, according to World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory.
- What is the highest stunting prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) recorded in Bulgaria?
- The highest recorded value was 8.9% in 2003.
- What is the lowest stunting prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) recorded in Bulgaria?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.5% in 2023.
- How does Bulgaria rank for stunting prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%)?
- Bulgaria ranks 123rd out of 161 countries with data for 2024.
- Is stunting prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) rising or falling in Bulgaria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 19.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Bulgaria data come from?
- The figures come from World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory, published as part of Stunting prevalence among children under 5 years of age (% height-for-age <-2 SD), model-based estimates. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO).