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: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
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 Lao People's Democratic Republic 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 Côte 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 Congo, Democratic Republic of the 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 Timor-Leste 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 Russian Federation 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 Viet Nam 1 2020 down 16.0% falling
45 Jamaica 0.9919 2018 up 263.6% volatile
46 Tanzania, United Republic of 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 (Plurinational State of) 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 Türkiye 0.6469 2018 up 99.0% falling
61 Azerbaijan 0.6382 2023 down 42.8% volatile
62 Palestine, State of 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 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.

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Weight-for-height <-3 SD by country. Statizoid, drawing on UNICEF. Retrieved 21 August 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/weight-for-height-3-sd-severe-wasting/

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About this data

Indicator
Weight-for-height <-3 SD (severe wasting)
Source
UNICEF
Licence
UNICEF Terms of Use (attribution required)
Coverage
140 places, 2,174 data points, 1986–2024
Last refreshed