Malnutrition: Prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Gambia
Gambia: Malnutrition: Prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female was 18.5% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Malnutrition: Prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Gambia, 2000–2020
Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME) - UNICEF, WHO, and World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of children under 5.
Analysis
The most recent figure for malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Gambia is 18.5%, measured in 2020. That is the lowest value across all 7 years on record.
That represents a change of down 14.4% on the previous year and down 27.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Gambia peaked at 28.6% in 2006 and was at its lowest, 18.5%, in 2020.
That places Gambia 49th out of 83 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
Malnutrition: Prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Gambia, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 26.0% | — |
| 2006 | 28.6% | +10.0% |
| 2010 | 25.5% | -10.8% |
| 2012 | 23.6% | -7.5% |
| 2013 | 25.9% | +9.7% |
| 2018 | 21.6% | -16.6% |
| 2020 | 18.5% | -14.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 27.3% | 26.0% | 28.6% | 2 |
| 2010s | 24.1% | 21.6% | 25.9% | 4 |
| 2020s | 18.5% | 18.5% | 18.5% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Gambia
More gender data for Gambia
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) 1,149 (2030)
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) (0-14), annual growth 0.4019 % change on previous year (2030)
- Population 1,981 (2030)
- Working-age population (UN estimates and projections) 1,981 (2030)
- Population (UN estimates and projections), annual growth rate 2.94 % change on previous year (2030)
- Age population, age 00, female, interpolated 39,680 (2025)
- Age population, age 00, male, interpolated 40,675 (2025)
- Age population, age 01, female, interpolated 39,327 (2025)
- Age population, age 01, male, interpolated 40,247 (2025)
- Age population, age 02, female, interpolated 38,827 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Gambia?
- Malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Gambia was 18.5% in 2020, according to Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME) - UNICEF, WHO, and World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female recorded in Gambia?
- The highest recorded value was 28.6% in 2006.
- What is the lowest malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female recorded in Gambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 18.5% in 2020.
- How does Gambia rank for malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female?
- Gambia ranks 49th out of 83 countries with data for 2020.
- Is malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female rising or falling in Gambia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 27.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Gambia data come from?
- The figures come from Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME) - UNICEF, WHO, and World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Malnutrition: Prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 7 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
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.