Malnutrition: Prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Kenya
Kenya: Malnutrition: Prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female was 19.6% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Malnutrition: Prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Kenya, 1993–2022
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
Kenya recorded 19.6% for malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in 2022. That is the lowest value across all 11 years on record.
That represents a change of down 28.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Kenya peaked at 44.5% in 2005 and was at its lowest, 19.6%, in 2022.
That places Kenya 45th out of 83 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 11 years of available data.
Malnutrition: Prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Kenya, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 43.8% | — |
| 1994 | 43.2% | -1.4% |
| 1998 | 41.2% | -4.6% |
| 2000 | 44.3% | +7.5% |
| 2003 | 39.6% | -10.6% |
| 2005 | 44.5% | +12.4% |
| 2008 | 37.4% | -16.0% |
| 2011 | 27.4% | -26.7% |
| 2014 | 29.9% | +9.1% |
| 2016 | 31.5% | +5.4% |
| 2022 | 19.6% | -37.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 42.7% | 41.2% | 43.8% | 3 |
| 2000s | 41.5% | 37.4% | 44.5% | 4 |
| 2010s | 29.6% | 27.4% | 31.5% | 3 |
| 2020s | 19.6% | 19.6% | 19.6% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Kenya
More gender data for Kenya
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) 21,579 (2030)
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) (0-14), annual growth 0.8794 % change on previous year (2030)
- Age population, age 00, female, interpolated 740,912 (2025)
- Age population, age 00, male, interpolated 751,960 (2025)
- Age population, age 01, female, interpolated 725,839 (2025)
- Age population, age 01, male, interpolated 736,424 (2025)
- Age population, age 02, female, interpolated 712,907 (2025)
- Age population, age 02, male, interpolated 723,661 (2025)
- Age population, age 03, female, interpolated 702,473 (2025)
- Age population, age 03, male, interpolated 712,985 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Kenya?
- Malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Kenya was 19.6% in 2022, 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 Kenya?
- The highest recorded value was 44.5% in 2005.
- What is the lowest malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female recorded in Kenya?
- The lowest recorded value was 19.6% in 2022.
- How does Kenya rank for malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female?
- Kenya ranks 45th out of 83 countries with data for 2022.
- Is malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female rising or falling in Kenya?
- Over the last ten years it is down 28.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Kenya 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.
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CSV · JSON — 11 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.