Stunting prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Stunting prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) was 10.1% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
10.1%
Change on year
down 1.0%
World rank
91st
of 161 countries
All-time high
19.8%
in 2000
All-time low
10.1%
in 2024
Years of data
25
2000–2024
Stunting prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) in Sri Lanka, 2000–2024
Source: World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory.
Analysis
Sri Lanka recorded 10.1% for stunting prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
The figure is down 1.0% on the previous year and down 30.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, stunting prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) in Sri Lanka peaked at 19.8% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 10.1%, in 2024.
That places Sri Lanka 91st out of 161 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
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 Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 19.8% | — |
| 2001 | 19.7% | -0.5% |
| 2002 | 19.6% | -0.5% |
| 2003 | 19.5% | -0.5% |
| 2004 | 19.4% | -0.5% |
| 2005 | 19.2% | -1.0% |
| 2006 | 19.0% | -1.0% |
| 2007 | 18.6% | -2.1% |
| 2008 | 18.2% | -2.2% |
| 2009 | 17.7% | -2.7% |
| 2010 | 17.2% | -2.8% |
| 2011 | 16.6% | -3.5% |
| 2012 | 15.9% | -4.2% |
| 2013 | 15.3% | -3.8% |
| 2014 | 14.6% | -4.6% |
| 2015 | 14.0% | -4.1% |
| 2016 | 13.3% | -5.0% |
| 2017 | 12.7% | -4.5% |
| 2018 | 12.1% | -4.7% |
| 2019 | 11.6% | -4.1% |
| 2020 | 11.1% | -4.3% |
| 2021 | 10.8% | -2.7% |
| 2022 | 10.5% | -2.8% |
| 2023 | 10.2% | -2.9% |
| 2024 | 10.1% | -1.0% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 10.1% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 8.0%, 1.3× the median. (53 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 10.1% is below the median for South Asia, which is 21.5%, 47% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 19.1% | 17.7% | 19.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 14.3% | 11.6% | 17.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.5% | 10.1% | 11.1% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
- 89 Costa Rica 10.6% compare
- 89 Peru 10.6% compare
- 91 Lebanon 10.1% compare
- 93 Sao Tome and Principe 10.0% compare
- 94 Brunei Darussalam 9.9% compare
More health data for Sri Lanka
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.62 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.7332 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,250 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 304 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -2.13 % 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 0.0339 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate -2.12 % 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 Sri Lanka?
- Stunting prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) in Sri Lanka was 10.1% 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 Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 19.8% in 2000.
- What is the lowest stunting prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.1% in 2024.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for stunting prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%)?
- Sri Lanka ranks 91st out of 161 countries with data for 2024.
- Is stunting prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 30.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sri Lanka 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).