Weight-for-height <-3 SD (severe wasting) by country
Countries reporting
84
Highest
7.53
India
Lowest
0
United States
Median
1.03
Years covered
39
1986–2024
Data points
2,174
What the numbers show
Weight-for-height <-3 SD (severe wasting) is currently reported for 84 countries. The highest value is 7.53 in India; the lowest is 0 in United States.
The median across all reporting countries is 1.03, and the mean is 1.28.
Over the past decade 29 countries rose and 52 fell. The largest increase was in Oman (up 287.5%), and the largest decrease in United States (down 100.0%).
Weight-for-height <-3 SD (severe wasting): full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India | 7.53 | 2020 | up 11.1% | flat |
| 2 | Yemen | 5.17 | 2022 | up 52.1% | falling |
| 3 | Nigeria | 3.1 | 2021 | down 1.2% | falling |
| 3 | Oman | 3.1 | 2017 | up 287.5% | volatile |
| 5 | Laos | 2.7 | 2023 | up 93.1% | volatile |
| 6 | Mauritania | 2.6 | 2022 | up 39.4% | volatile |
| 7 | Thailand | 2.51 | 2022 | up 11.9% | rising |
| 8 | Benin | 2.44 | 2021 | up 121.9% | volatile |
| 9 | Pakistan | 2.43 | 2018 | down 58.3% | falling |
| 10 | Cote d'Ivoire | 2.39 | 2021 | up 197.3% | volatile |
| 11 | Sierra Leone | 2.36 | 2021 | up 46.0% | volatile |
| 12 | Cambodia | 2.35 | 2021 | down 14.2% | volatile |
| 13 | Djibouti | 2.3 | 2023 | down 33.1% | volatile |
| 14 | Niger | 2.13 | 2022 | down 19.8% | falling |
| 15 | Burundi | 2.1 | 2024 | down 38.2% | falling |
| 16 | Indonesia | 2.08 | 2023 | down 68.9% | volatile |
| 17 | Maldives | 2.01 | 2017 | down 25.0% | volatile |
| 18 | Democratic Republic of Congo | 1.9 | 2023 | down 33.6% | falling |
| 19 | Guyana | 1.85 | 2019 | up 48.1% | volatile |
| 20 | Armenia | 1.75 | 2016 | down 33.3% | rising |
| 21 | Bangladesh | 1.74 | 2022 | down 13.2% | falling |
| 22 | Central African Republic | 1.6 | 2022 | up 1.4% | volatile |
| 22 | Tajikistan | 1.6 | 2023 | down 60.7% | falling |
| 22 | Zimbabwe | 1.6 | 2024 | up 121.7% | volatile |
| 25 | Cameroon | 1.59 | 2018 | down 39.7% | flat |
| 26 | Guinea-Bissau | 1.53 | 2019 | up 41.5% | volatile |
| 27 | Zambia | 1.52 | 2018 | down 34.9% | falling |
| 28 | Chad | 1.5 | 2022 | down 76.3% | falling |
| 29 | Madagascar | 1.48 | 2021 | up 51.7% | falling |
| 30 | East Timor | 1.47 | 2020 | down 80.5% | volatile |
| 31 | Egypt | 1.47 | 2021 | down 61.1% | rising |
| 32 | Kyrgyzstan | 1.3 | 2023 | up 3.6% | falling |
| 33 | Russia | 1.28 | 2005 | down 11.4% | falling |
| 34 | Algeria | 1.28 | 2019 | down 26.6% | volatile |
| 35 | Guinea | 1.26 | 2022 | down 68.8% | falling |
| 36 | Saudi Arabia | 1.2 | 2020 | unchanged | volatile |
| 37 | Ghana | 1.17 | 2022 | down 16.6% | falling |
| 38 | Ethiopia | 1.11 | 2019 | down 61.5% | falling |
| 39 | Senegal | 1.1 | 2023 | down 22.8% | falling |
| 40 | Togo | 1.1 | 2017 | up 56.6% | volatile |
| 41 | Uzbekistan | 1.09 | 2021 | down 32.2% | volatile |
| 42 | Kazakhstan | 1.05 | 2015 | down 54.4% | falling |
| 43 | Uganda | 1 | 2022 | up 201.9% | falling |
| 43 | Vietnam | 1 | 2020 | down 16.0% | falling |
| 45 | Jamaica | 0.9919 | 2018 | up 263.6% | volatile |
| 46 | Tanzania | 0.9196 | 2022 | down 45.2% | volatile |
| 47 | Haiti | 0.9108 | 2023 | down 49.4% | volatile |
| 48 | Myanmar | 0.9 | 2018 | down 57.1% | falling |
| 48 | Mongolia | 0.9 | 2023 | up 143.5% | volatile |
| 50 | Bolivia | 0.8988 | 2016 | up 85.7% | falling |
| 51 | Kuwait | 0.8625 | 2023 | up 40.4% | rising |
| 52 | Burkina Faso | 0.8617 | 2021 | down 60.5% | volatile |
| 53 | Nepal | 0.8096 | 2022 | down 72.3% | falling |
| 54 | Sri Lanka | 0.8 | 2024 | down 73.7% | falling |
| 55 | Philippines | 0.753 | 2021 | down 62.2% | falling |
| 56 | Mozambique | 0.7284 | 2022 | down 69.4% | falling |
| 57 | China | 0.7 | 2010 | up 40.0% | falling |
| 57 | Mali | 0.7 | 2024 | down 76.6% | volatile |
| 57 | El Salvador | 0.7 | 2021 | up 48.6% | rising |
| 60 | Turkey | 0.6469 | 2018 | up 99.0% | falling |
| 61 | Azerbaijan | 0.6382 | 2023 | down 42.8% | volatile |
| 62 | Palestine | 0.6364 | 2020 | down 38.4% | falling |
| 63 | Gambia | 0.5948 | 2020 | down 81.5% | volatile |
| 64 | Kenya | 0.5765 | 2022 | down 69.7% | falling |
| 65 | Liberia | 0.5148 | 2019 | down 35.6% | volatile |
| 66 | Dominican Republic | 0.51 | 2019 | down 41.4% | falling |
| 67 | Morocco | 0.5 | 2019 | down 48.5% | volatile |
| 68 | Eswatini | 0.4903 | 2021 | up 36.2% | volatile |
| 69 | Honduras | 0.4721 | 2019 | up 44.8% | rising |
| 70 | Colombia | 0.4034 | 2016 | down 5.1% | falling |
| 71 | Jordan | 0.3904 | 2023 | down 40.0% | volatile |
| 72 | Paraguay | 0.3597 | 2016 | up 16.6% | rising |
| 73 | Uruguay | 0.2469 | 2018 | down 38.3% | falling |
| 74 | Lesotho | 0.2463 | 2024 | down 59.4% | volatile |
| 75 | Finland | 0.2 | 2023 | up 100.0% | rising |
| 75 | Guatemala | 0.2 | 2021 | up 23.2% | volatile |
| 75 | Malawi | 0.2 | 2020 | down 87.1% | volatile |
| 78 | Rwanda | 0.1967 | 2020 | down 78.2% | volatile |
| 79 | United Kingdom | 0.1 | 2019 | unchanged | volatile |
| 79 | South Korea | 0.1 | 2020 | unchanged | falling |
| 81 | Ecuador | 0.0806 | 2024 | down 86.3% | volatile |
| 82 | Mexico | 0.0511 | 2022 | down 87.7% | volatile |
| 83 | Peru | 0.0451 | 2023 | down 77.2% | volatile |
| 84 | United States | 0 | 2018 | down 100.0% | volatile |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- South Asia (World Bank regions) 4.6
- Asia Meridional 4.5
- Southern Asia (UNSDG) 4.4
- South-East Asia (WHO regions) 4.3
- Central and Southern Asia (UNSDG) 4.2
- Oceania (exc. Australia and New Zealand) (UNSDG) 3.2
- Asia (UNSDG) 2.8
- World Bank (lower middle income) 2.7
- Eastern Mediterranean (WHO regions) 2.2
- World 1.9
- South-eastern Asia (UNSDG) 1.8
- Oriente Medio y África del Norte 1.6
- Middle Africa (UNSDG) 1.6
- Middle East and North Africa (World Bank regions) 1.6
- África Occidental y Central 1.5
- Países menos adelantados 1.5
- World Bank (low income) 1.4
- Northern Africa and Western Asia (UNSDG) 1.4
- África Subsahariana 1.3
- Africa (WHO regions) 1.3
- Sub-Saharan Africa (World Bank regions) 1.3
- Africa (UNSDG) 1.3
- Western Africa (UNSDG) 1.3
- Low Income Food Deficit Countries (LIFDCs) 1.2
- Landlocked developing countries (LLDC) (UNSDG) 1.2
- Sub-Saharan Africa (UNSDG) 1.1
- África Oriental y Meridional 1
- Eastern and South-Eastern Asia (UNSDG) 1
- Small island developing States (SIDS) (UNSDG) 1
- Asia Oriental y Pacífico 0.9
- Western Asia (UNSDG) 0.9
- East Asia and Pacific (World Bank regions) 0.9
- Eastern Africa (UNSDG) 0.9
- Caribbean (UNSDG) 0.8
- Central Asia (UNSDG) 0.6
- Europa del Este y Asia Central 0.5
- World Bank (upper middle income) 0.5
- Western Pacific (WHO regions) 0.4
- Southern Africa (UNSDG) 0.4
- América Latina y el Caribe 0.3