Weight-for-height <-2 SD (wasting) by country
Countries reporting
98
Highest
18.75
India
Lowest
0.1
United States
Median
4.26
Years covered
40
1985–2024
Data points
2,355
What the numbers show
Weight-for-height <-2 SD (wasting) is currently reported for 98 countries. The highest value is 18.75 in India; the lowest is 0.1 in United States.
The median across all reporting countries is 4.26, and the mean is 5.12.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 187.
Over the past decade 32 countries rose and 65 fell. The largest increase was in Mongolia (up 173.1%), and the largest decrease in United States (down 66.7%).
Weight-for-height <-2 SD: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India | 18.75 | 2020 | down 6.4% | falling |
| 2 | Yemen | 16.85 | 2022 | up 26.7% | falling |
| 3 | Mauritania | 13.6 | 2022 | up 16.5% | falling |
| 4 | Djibouti | 12.1 | 2023 | down 12.7% | falling |
| 5 | Nigeria | 11.6 | 2021 | up 13.3% | falling |
| 6 | Syrian Arab Republic | 11.55 | 2010 | up 135.7% | rising |
| 7 | Malaysia | 11 | 2022 | up 36.4% | falling |
| 8 | Niger | 10.87 | 2022 | down 18.9% | falling |
| 9 | Bangladesh | 10.71 | 2022 | down 2.7% | falling |
| 10 | Lao People’s Democratic Republic | 10.7 | 2023 | up 80.5% | falling |
| 11 | Senegal | 10.17 | 2023 | up 13.4% | rising |
| 12 | Cambodia | 9.61 | 2021 | down 12.8% | falling |
| 13 | Burkina Faso | 9.34 | 2021 | down 10.1% | falling |
| 14 | Sri Lanka | 9.3 | 2024 | down 56.4% | falling |
| 14 | Oman | 9.3 | 2017 | up 31.0% | falling |
| 16 | Maldives | 9.15 | 2017 | down 14.1% | falling |
| 17 | Indonesia | 8.37 | 2023 | down 38.0% | falling |
| 18 | Timor-Leste | 8.29 | 2020 | down 56.1% | falling |
| 19 | Benin | 8.29 | 2021 | up 62.5% | falling |
| 20 | Côte d’Ivoire | 8.06 | 2021 | up 51.6% | falling |
| 21 | Guinea-Bissau | 7.82 | 2019 | up 63.9% | falling |
| 22 | Burundi | 7.8 | 2024 | down 2.5% | falling |
| 23 | Chad | 7.77 | 2022 | down 52.3% | falling |
| 24 | Myanmar | 7.4 | 2018 | down 6.3% | falling |
| 25 | Madagascar | 7.24 | 2021 | up 26.7% | falling |
| 26 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 7.2 | 2023 | down 11.4% | falling |
| 27 | Thailand | 7.19 | 2022 | up 7.1% | flat |
| 28 | Pakistan | 7.09 | 2018 | down 52.5% | falling |
| 29 | Nepal | 6.98 | 2022 | down 37.5% | flat |
| 30 | Ethiopia | 6.8 | 2019 | down 30.5% | falling |
| 31 | Guyana | 6.45 | 2019 | up 16.8% | falling |
| 32 | Guinea | 6.41 | 2022 | down 35.7% | falling |
| 33 | Tajikistan | 6.4 | 2023 | down 35.4% | volatile |
| 34 | Sierra Leone | 6.31 | 2021 | down 15.7% | falling |
| 35 | Ghana | 5.8 | 2022 | down 6.7% | falling |
| 36 | Togo | 5.72 | 2017 | down 4.7% | falling |
| 37 | Philippines | 5.4 | 2021 | down 22.8% | falling |
| 38 | Mali | 5.4 | 2024 | down 58.8% | falling |
| 39 | Central African Republic | 5.2 | 2022 | down 29.9% | falling |
| 40 | Bhutan | 5.1 | 2023 | down 12.9% | rising |
| 40 | Zimbabwe | 5.1 | 2024 | up 57.3% | falling |
| 42 | Gambia | 5.07 | 2020 | down 53.6% | falling |
| 43 | Comoros | 5.06 | 2022 | down 54.9% | falling |
| 44 | Haiti | 4.98 | 2023 | down 20.9% | falling |
| 45 | Kenya | 4.53 | 2022 | down 24.5% | falling |
| 46 | Armenia | 4.43 | 2016 | down 17.5% | rising |
| 47 | Viet Nam | 4.4 | 2023 | down 33.3% | falling |
| 48 | Cameroon | 4.3 | 2018 | down 43.3% | falling |
| 49 | Iran (Islamic Republic of) | 4.3 | 2017 | down 10.4% | falling |
| 50 | Zambia | 4.23 | 2018 | down 24.0% | falling |
| 51 | Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of | 4.1 | 2009 | up 2.5% | rising |
| 52 | Saudi Arabia | 3.9 | 2020 | down 9.3% | volatile |
| 53 | Mozambique | 3.8 | 2022 | down 38.2% | falling |
| 54 | Afghanistan | 3.63 | 2022 | down 61.9% | volatile |
| 55 | South Africa | 3.6 | 2017 | down 33.3% | falling |
| 56 | Azerbaijan | 3.52 | 2023 | up 11.4% | falling |
| 57 | Kuwait | 3.52 | 2023 | up 24.2% | rising |
| 58 | Romania | 3.48 | 2002 | up 5.5% | rising |
| 59 | Liberia | 3.4 | 2019 | down 21.0% | falling |
| 60 | Egypt | 3.35 | 2021 | down 57.9% | rising |
| 61 | Russia | 3.32 | 2005 | down 24.0% | falling |
| 62 | Uganda | 3.2 | 2022 | down 24.0% | falling |
| 63 | Jamaica | 3.17 | 2018 | up 26.3% | falling |
| 64 | Tanzania, United Republic of | 3.12 | 2022 | down 49.9% | falling |
| 65 | Kazakhstan | 3.1 | 2015 | down 36.5% | falling |
| 66 | Iraq | 3.03 | 2018 | down 47.6% | falling |
| 67 | Kyrgyzstan | 2.98 | 2023 | up 4.8% | falling |
| 68 | El Salvador | 2.9 | 2021 | up 82.7% | rising |
| 69 | Algeria | 2.7 | 2019 | down 34.6% | falling |
| 70 | Mongolia | 2.7 | 2023 | up 173.1% | volatile |
| 71 | Democratic People's Republic of Korea | 2.5 | 2017 | down 51.9% | volatile |
| 72 | Uzbekistan | 2.42 | 2021 | down 45.3% | volatile |
| 73 | Morocco | 2.4 | 2019 | up 4.3% | volatile |
| 74 | Jordan | 2.25 | 2023 | down 7.0% | falling |
| 75 | Dominican Republic | 2.17 | 2019 | down 5.4% | flat |
| 76 | Malawi | 2.1 | 2020 | down 48.0% | falling |
| 77 | Tunisia | 2.08 | 2018 | down 39.0% | falling |
| 78 | Bolivia, Plurinational State of | 1.96 | 2016 | up 38.9% | volatile |
| 79 | China (People’s Republic of) | 1.9 | 2017 | down 26.9% | falling |
| 80 | Honduras | 1.88 | 2019 | up 38.4% | falling |
| 81 | Eswatini | 1.81 | 2021 | up 138.0% | flat |
| 82 | Türkiye | 1.67 | 2018 | up 74.0% | volatile |
| 83 | Colombia | 1.65 | 2016 | up 5.4% | volatile |
| 84 | Lesotho | 1.64 | 2024 | down 42.3% | volatile |
| 85 | Finland | 1.6 | 2023 | up 33.3% | rising |
| 86 | Uruguay | 1.41 | 2018 | up 0.6% | falling |
| 87 | Palestine, State of | 1.33 | 2020 | down 59.9% | falling |
| 88 | Belarus | 1.3 | 2023 | — | falling |
| 89 | Rwanda | 1.12 | 2020 | down 61.5% | volatile |
| 90 | Mexico | 0.9803 | 2022 | down 38.6% | volatile |
| 91 | Paraguay | 0.9621 | 2016 | down 9.7% | volatile |
| 92 | Guatemala | 0.8 | 2021 | down 20.2% | volatile |
| 93 | Ecuador | 0.7262 | 2024 | down 55.4% | falling |
| 94 | Peru | 0.5635 | 2023 | up 30.5% | falling |
| 95 | United Kingdom | 0.4 | 2019 | down 20.0% | falling |
| 96 | Chile | 0.3 | 2014 | down 40.0% | falling |
| 97 | Korea | 0.2 | 2020 | down 60.0% | falling |
| 98 | United States | 0.1 | 2022 | down 66.7% | volatile |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- Asia Meridional 14.1
- South Asia (World Bank regions) 14.1
- South-East Asia (WHO regions) 13.9
- Southern Asia (UNSDG) 13.6
- Central and Southern Asia (UNSDG) 13
- World Bank (lower middle income) 9.5
- Asia (UNSDG) 9.1
- Oceania (exc. Australia and New Zealand) (UNSDG) 8.4
- South-eastern Asia (UNSDG) 7
- África Occidental y Central 6.9
- Países menos adelantados 6.7
- World 6.6