Stunting prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) in Malawi
Malawi: Stunting prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) was 33.2% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
33.2%
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
19th
of 161 countries
All-time high
56.1%
in 2000
All-time low
33.2%
in 2023
Years of data
25
2000–2024
Stunting prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) in Malawi, 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 Malawi is 33.2%, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of down 18.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, stunting prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) in Malawi peaked at 56.1% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 33.2%, in 2023.
Malawi ranks 19th of 161 countries on this measure, in the top 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 Malawi, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 56.1% | — |
| 2001 | 55.9% | -0.4% |
| 2002 | 55.5% | -0.7% |
| 2003 | 55.0% | -0.9% |
| 2004 | 54.4% | -1.1% |
| 2005 | 53.6% | -1.5% |
| 2006 | 52.7% | -1.7% |
| 2007 | 51.5% | -2.3% |
| 2008 | 50.1% | -2.7% |
| 2009 | 48.5% | -3.2% |
| 2010 | 46.8% | -3.5% |
| 2011 | 45.1% | -3.6% |
| 2012 | 43.5% | -3.5% |
| 2013 | 41.9% | -3.7% |
| 2014 | 40.5% | -3.3% |
| 2015 | 39.2% | -3.2% |
| 2016 | 37.9% | -3.3% |
| 2017 | 36.8% | -2.9% |
| 2018 | 35.8% | -2.7% |
| 2019 | 34.9% | -2.5% |
| 2020 | 34.1% | -2.3% |
| 2021 | 33.6% | -1.5% |
| 2022 | 33.3% | -0.9% |
| 2023 | 33.2% | -0.3% |
| 2024 | 33.2% | +0.0% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 33.2% is above the median for low income countries, which is 31.5%, 1.1× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 33.2% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 24.8%, 1.3× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 53.3% | 48.5% | 56.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 40.2% | 34.9% | 46.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 33.5% | 33.2% | 34.1% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More health data for Malawi
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -0.8368 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.9312 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 856.3 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 6,399 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 2 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 1.61 % 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 0.0714 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 1.63 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is stunting prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) in Malawi?
- Stunting prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) in Malawi was 33.2% 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 Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 56.1% in 2000.
- What is the lowest stunting prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 33.2% in 2023.
- How does Malawi rank for stunting prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%)?
- Malawi ranks 19th out of 161 countries with data for 2024.
- Is stunting prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is down 18.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malawi 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).