Malnutrition: Prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Uganda

Uganda: Malnutrition: Prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female was 27.2% in 2022. ▼ Falling

Latest (2022)
27.2%
Change on year
down 11.1%
World rank
28th
of 83 countries
All-time high
51.7%
in 1988
All-time low
27.2%
in 2022
Years of data
13
1988–2022

Malnutrition: Prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Uganda, 1988–2022

02040601988200520221988: 51.7 % of children under 51995: 48.9 % of children under 52000: 47.5 % of children under 52006: 40.9 % of children under 52009: 42.4 % of children under 52011: 37.2 % of children under 52012: 35.5 % of children under 52014: 36.4 % of children under 52015: 32.7 % of children under 52016: 30.9 % of children under 52018: 30.6 % of children under 52020: 30.6 % of children under 52022: 27.2 % of children under 5

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 2022, malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Uganda stood at 27.2%. That is the lowest value across all 13 years on record.

That represents a change of down 11.1% on the previous year and down 23.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Uganda peaked at 51.7% in 1988 and was at its lowest, 27.2%, in 2022.

Uganda ranks 28th of 83 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 13 years of available data.

Malnutrition: Prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Uganda, year by year

Annual values for Malnutrition: Prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Uganda, 1988 to 2022.
Year % of children under 5 Change
1988 51.7%
1995 48.9% -5.4%
2000 47.5% -2.9%
2006 40.9% -13.9%
2009 42.4% +3.7%
2011 37.2% -12.3%
2012 35.5% -4.6%
2014 36.4% +2.5%
2015 32.7% -10.2%
2016 30.9% -5.5%
2018 30.6% -1.0%
2020 30.6% +0.0%
2022 27.2% -11.1%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 51.7% 51.7% 51.7% 1
1990s 48.9% 48.9% 48.9% 1
2000s 43.6% 40.9% 47.5% 3
2010s 33.9% 30.6% 37.2% 6
2020s 28.9% 27.2% 30.6% 2

Countries ranked near Uganda

  1. 25 Guinea 29.1% compare
  2. 25 Sierra Leone 29.1% compare
  3. 27 Mauritania 27.6% compare
  4. 28 Philippines 27.2% compare
  5. 30 Djibouti 26.9% compare
  6. 31 Mali 26.7% compare
  7. 31 Myanmar 26.7% compare
  8. 31 Zimbabwe 26.7% compare

See the full ranking of 83 places →

More gender data for Uganda

All data for Uganda →

Frequently asked questions

What is malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Uganda?
Malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Uganda was 27.2% 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 Uganda?
The highest recorded value was 51.7% in 1988.
What is the lowest malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female recorded in Uganda?
The lowest recorded value was 27.2% in 2022.
How does Uganda rank for malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female?
Uganda ranks 28th out of 83 countries with data for 2022.
Is malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female rising or falling in Uganda?
Over the last ten years it is down 23.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Uganda 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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Malnutrition: Prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Uganda. Statizoid, drawing on Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME) - UNICEF, WHO, and World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 02 September 2026, from https://gender.statizoid.com/stat/prevalence-of-stunting-male-vs-female/uganda/

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About this data

Indicator
Malnutrition: Prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female
Unit
% of children under 5
Source
Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME) - UNICEF, WHO, and World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
83 places, 730 data points, 1986–2024
Last refreshed

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.