Stunting prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Stunting prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) was 10.6% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Stunting prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) in Costa Rica, 2000–2024
Source: World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory.
Analysis
The most recent figure for stunting prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) in Costa Rica is 10.6%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of up 5.0% on the previous year and up 49.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, stunting prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) in Costa Rica peaked at 10.6% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 6.3%, in 2007.
That places Costa Rica 89th out of 161 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Stunting prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 7.1% | — |
| 2001 | 6.9% | -2.8% |
| 2002 | 6.8% | -1.4% |
| 2003 | 6.7% | -1.5% |
| 2004 | 6.5% | -3.0% |
| 2005 | 6.4% | -1.5% |
| 2006 | 6.4% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 6.3% | -1.6% |
| 2008 | 6.3% | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 6.4% | +1.6% |
| 2010 | 6.4% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 6.5% | +1.6% |
| 2012 | 6.7% | +3.1% |
| 2013 | 6.9% | +3.0% |
| 2014 | 7.1% | +2.9% |
| 2015 | 7.4% | +4.2% |
| 2016 | 7.7% | +4.1% |
| 2017 | 7.9% | +2.6% |
| 2018 | 8.1% | +2.5% |
| 2019 | 8.4% | +3.7% |
| 2020 | 8.6% | +2.4% |
| 2021 | 9.1% | +5.8% |
| 2022 | 9.7% | +6.6% |
| 2023 | 10.1% | +4.1% |
| 2024 | 10.6% | +5.0% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 10.6% is above the median for high income countries, which is 3.5%, 3.0× the median. (37 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 10.6% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 10.0%, 1.1× the median. (26 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 6.6% | 6.3% | 7.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.3% | 6.4% | 8.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 9.6% | 8.6% | 10.6% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
More health data for Costa Rica
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -2.78 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.4617 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,632 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 35 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -3.42 % 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 0.0248 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate -3.37 % 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 Costa Rica?
- Stunting prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) in Costa Rica was 10.6% 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 Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 10.6% in 2024.
- What is the lowest stunting prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.3% in 2007.
- How does Costa Rica rank for stunting prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%)?
- Costa Rica ranks 89th out of 161 countries with data for 2024.
- Is stunting prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 49.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica 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).