Malnutrition: Prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female by country
Share of children younger than 5 years, male versus female, that fall below two standard deviations from the median height-for-age of the WHO Child Growth Standards.
Countries reporting
83
Highest
56.6%
Burundi
Lowest
0.8%
South Korea
Median
23.4%
Years covered
39
1986–2024
Data points
730
What the numbers show
Malnutrition: Prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female is currently reported for 83 countries. The highest value is 56.6% in Burundi; the lowest is 0.8% in South Korea.
The median across all reporting countries is 23.4%, and the mean is 23.2%.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 71.
Over the past decade 9 countries rose and 73 fell. The largest increase was in Malaysia (up 21.1%), and the largest decrease in Uzbekistan (down 69.2%).
Malnutrition: Prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burundi | 56.6% | 2024 | up 1.1% | flat |
| 2 | Niger | 50.4% | 2022 | up 18.6% | falling |
| 3 | Yemen | 48.9% | 2022 | up 4.0% | falling |
| 4 | East Timor | 48.6% | 2020 | down 18.3% | falling |
| 5 | Democratic Republic of Congo | 47.2% | 2023 | up 4.7% | flat |
| 6 | Guatemala | 47.1% | 2021 | down 8.5% | falling |
| 7 | Madagascar | 43.6% | 2021 | down 14.0% | falling |
| 8 | Mozambique | 40.9% | 2022 | down 9.3% | falling |
| 9 | Central African Republic | 40.8% | 2022 | down 2.4% | falling |
| 10 | Ethiopia | 39.8% | 2019 | down 13.9% | falling |
| 11 | Malawi | 39.3% | 2020 | down 23.4% | falling |
| 12 | Zambia | 38.3% | 2018 | down 21.5% | falling |
| 12 | Lesotho | 38.3% | 2024 | down 2.0% | falling |
| 14 | Pakistan | 38.2% | 2018 | down 13.6% | falling |
| 15 | Benin | 37.0% | 2021 | down 9.3% | falling |
| 15 | Rwanda | 37.0% | 2020 | down 22.1% | falling |
| 17 | India | 36.2% | 2020 | down 24.3% | falling |
| 18 | Nigeria | 35.0% | 2021 | down 4.9% | falling |
| 19 | Chad | 34.8% | 2022 | down 13.6% | falling |
| 20 | Laos | 34.6% | 2023 | down 24.3% | falling |
| 21 | Tanzania | 33.3% | 2022 | down 6.7% | falling |
| 22 | Liberia | 31.8% | 2019 | down 21.9% | falling |
| 23 | Guinea-Bissau | 31.4% | 2019 | up 7.5% | falling |
| 24 | Cameroon | 31.2% | 2018 | down 23.3% | falling |
| 25 | Guinea | 29.1% | 2022 | down 9.6% | falling |
| 25 | Sierra Leone | 29.1% | 2021 | down 19.6% | falling |
| 27 | Mauritania | 27.6% | 2022 | up 7.4% | falling |
| 28 | Uganda | 27.2% | 2022 | down 23.4% | falling |
| 28 | Philippines | 27.2% | 2021 | down 21.2% | falling |
| 30 | Djibouti | 26.9% | 2023 | down 3.9% | falling |
| 31 | Myanmar | 26.7% | 2018 | down 27.2% | falling |
| 31 | Mali | 26.7% | 2024 | down 14.1% | falling |
| 31 | Zimbabwe | 26.7% | 2019 | down 29.4% | falling |
| 34 | Togo | 26.2% | 2017 | down 19.1% | falling |
| 35 | Nepal | 24.7% | 2022 | down 39.8% | falling |
| 36 | Haiti | 24.6% | 2023 | down 0.8% | falling |
| 37 | Cambodia | 24.5% | 2021 | down 41.0% | falling |
| 37 | Burkina Faso | 24.5% | 2021 | down 35.9% | falling |
| 39 | Cote d'Ivoire | 24.3% | 2021 | down 20.8% | flat |
| 40 | Bangladesh | 23.8% | 2022 | down 35.7% | falling |
| 41 | Vietnam | 23.7% | 2010 | down 45.8% | falling |
| 42 | Indonesia | 23.4% | 2023 | down 37.1% | falling |
| 43 | Eswatini | 22.7% | 2021 | down 33.2% | falling |
| 44 | Malaysia | 21.8% | 2022 | up 21.1% | rising |
| 45 | Kenya | 19.6% | 2022 | down 28.5% | falling |
| 46 | Ghana | 19.4% | 2022 | down 23.3% | falling |
| 47 | Ecuador | 19.2% | 2024 | down 25.9% | falling |
| 47 | Honduras | 19.2% | 2019 | down 38.9% | falling |
| 49 | Senegal | 18.5% | 2023 | up 3.4% | falling |
| 49 | Gambia | 18.5% | 2020 | down 27.5% | falling |
| 51 | Nicaragua | 18.2% | 2012 | down 32.1% | falling |
| 52 | Sri Lanka | 17.9% | 2016 | down 4.8% | falling |
| 53 | Maldives | 16.3% | 2017 | down 20.1% | falling |
| 54 | Bolivia | 16.1% | 2016 | down 42.5% | falling |
| 55 | Tajikistan | 15.1% | 2023 | down 42.8% | falling |
| 56 | Kyrgyzstan | 15.0% | 2023 | down 25.7% | falling |
| 57 | Morocco | 14.9% | 2019 | down 6.3% | falling |
| 58 | Colombia | 14.4% | 2016 | down 17.7% | falling |
| 59 | Saudi Arabia | 13.6% | 2020 | — | rising |
| 60 | Egypt | 13.0% | 2021 | down 60.5% | falling |
| 61 | Oman | 12.7% | 2017 | up 12.4% | falling |
| 61 | Thailand | 12.7% | 2022 | down 23.0% | falling |
| 63 | Peru | 12.5% | 2023 | down 32.4% | falling |
| 64 | Algeria | 11.6% | 2019 | down 30.1% | falling |
| 65 | Mexico | 11.5% | 2022 | down 24.3% | falling |
| 66 | Guyana | 11.4% | 2019 | down 43.6% | falling |
| 67 | Armenia | 10.9% | 2016 | down 40.4% | falling |
| 67 | El Salvador | 10.9% | 2021 | down 49.5% | falling |
| 67 | Mongolia | 10.9% | 2018 | down 36.3% | falling |
| 70 | China | 8.8% | 2013 | down 61.2% | falling |
| 71 | Palestine | 8.6% | 2020 | down 27.7% | flat |
| 72 | Kazakhstan | 7.7% | 2015 | down 57.0% | falling |
| 73 | Jordan | 7.6% | 2023 | down 18.3% | falling |
| 74 | Dominican Republic | 7.5% | 2019 | down 31.2% | falling |
| 75 | Uruguay | 7.3% | 2018 | down 45.5% | falling |
| 76 | Jamaica | 7.0% | 2018 | down 25.5% | falling |
| 77 | Azerbaijan | 6.9% | 2023 | down 61.7% | falling |
| 78 | Turkey | 6.1% | 2018 | down 50.8% | falling |
| 79 | Uzbekistan | 6.0% | 2021 | down 69.2% | volatile |
| 80 | Kuwait | 3.8% | 2023 | down 39.7% | rising |
| 81 | United States | 2.8% | 2018 | down 9.7% | falling |
| 82 | United Kingdom | 1.8% | 2019 | down 5.3% | falling |
| 83 | South Korea | 0.8% | 2020 | down 57.9% | falling |
About this data
Share of children younger than 5 years, male versus female, that fall below two standard deviations from the median height-for-age of the WHO Child Growth Standards.