Malnutrition: Prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe: Malnutrition: Prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female was 26.7% in 2019. ▼ Falling
Malnutrition: Prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Zimbabwe, 1988–2019
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 2019, malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Zimbabwe stood at 26.7%. That is the lowest value across all 10 years on record.
That represents a change of down 29.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Zimbabwe peaked at 38.4% in 2005 and was at its lowest, 26.7%, in 2019.
That places Zimbabwe 31st out of 83 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 10 years of available data.
Malnutrition: Prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Zimbabwe, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 33.1% | — |
| 1994 | 31.0% | -6.3% |
| 1999 | 35.7% | +15.2% |
| 2005 | 38.4% | +7.6% |
| 2009 | 37.8% | -1.6% |
| 2010 | 36.0% | -4.8% |
| 2012 | 32.6% | -9.4% |
| 2014 | 31.1% | -4.6% |
| 2015 | 30.0% | -3.5% |
| 2019 | 26.7% | -11.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 33.1% | 33.1% | 33.1% | 1 |
| 1990s | 33.4% | 31.0% | 35.7% | 2 |
| 2000s | 38.1% | 37.8% | 38.4% | 2 |
| 2010s | 31.3% | 26.7% | 36.0% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Zimbabwe
More gender data for Zimbabwe
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) 6,958 (2030)
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) (0-14), annual growth 0.695 % change on previous year (2030)
- Age population, age 00, female, interpolated 239,901 (2025)
- Age population, age 00, male, interpolated 244,202 (2025)
- Age population, age 01, female, interpolated 236,403 (2025)
- Age population, age 01, male, interpolated 240,452 (2025)
- Age population, age 02, female, interpolated 234,239 (2025)
- Age population, age 02, male, interpolated 238,280 (2025)
- Age population, age 03, female, interpolated 230,913 (2025)
- Age population, age 03, male, interpolated 234,853 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Zimbabwe?
- Malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female in Zimbabwe was 26.7% in 2019, 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 Zimbabwe?
- The highest recorded value was 38.4% in 2005.
- What is the lowest malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The lowest recorded value was 26.7% in 2019.
- How does Zimbabwe rank for malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female?
- Zimbabwe ranks 31st out of 83 countries with data for 2019.
- Is malnutrition: prevalence of childhood stunting, male vs. female rising or falling in Zimbabwe?
- Over the last ten years it is down 29.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Zimbabwe 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 — 10 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.