Malnutrition: Prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Malawi
Malawi: Malnutrition: Prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female was 39.3% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Malnutrition: Prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Malawi, 1992–2020
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
In 2020, malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Malawi stood at 39.3%.
That represents a change of up 5.4% on the previous year and down 23.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Malawi peaked at 64.8% in 1998 and was at its lowest, 37.3%, in 2019.
That places Malawi 11th out of 83 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 15 years of available data.
Malnutrition: Prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Malawi, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 57.8% | — |
| 1998 | 64.8% | +12.1% |
| 2000 | 56.7% | -12.5% |
| 2002 | 61.3% | +8.1% |
| 2004 | 55.1% | -10.1% |
| 2006 | 55.3% | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 52.4% | -5.2% |
| 2010 | 51.3% | -2.1% |
| 2014 | 45.7% | -10.9% |
| 2015 | 39.3% | -14.0% |
| 2016 | 41.5% | +5.6% |
| 2017 | 43.5% | +4.8% |
| 2018 | 41.4% | -4.8% |
| 2019 | 37.3% | -9.9% |
| 2020 | 39.3% | +5.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 61.3% | 57.8% | 64.8% | 2 |
| 2000s | 56.2% | 52.4% | 61.3% | 5 |
| 2010s | 42.9% | 37.3% | 51.3% | 7 |
| 2020s | 39.3% | 39.3% | 39.3% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More gender data for Malawi
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) 9,494 (2030)
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) (0-14), annual growth 1.4 % change on previous year (2030)
- Age population, age 00, female, interpolated 330,369 (2025)
- Age population, age 00, male, interpolated 332,767 (2025)
- Age population, age 01, female, interpolated 322,764 (2025)
- Age population, age 01, male, interpolated 324,764 (2025)
- Age population, age 02, female, interpolated 316,113 (2025)
- Age population, age 02, male, interpolated 318,049 (2025)
- Age population, age 03, female, interpolated 310,624 (2025)
- Age population, age 03, male, interpolated 312,186 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Malawi?
- Malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Malawi was 39.3% 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 Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 64.8% in 1998.
- What is the lowest malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 37.3% in 2019.
- How does Malawi rank for malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female?
- Malawi ranks 11th out of 83 countries with data for 2020.
- Is malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is down 23.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malawi 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 — 15 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.