Prevalence of wasting, weight for height (% of children under 5) - Country Ranking - Africa
Definition: Prevalence of wasting is the proportion of children under age 5 whose weight for height is more than two standard deviations below the median for the international reference population ages 0-59.
Source: UNICEF, WHO, World Bank: Joint child malnutrition estimates (JME). Aggregation is based on UNICEF, WHO, and the World Bank harmonized dataset (adjusted, comparable data) and methodology.
See also: Thematic map, Time series comparison
| Rank | Country | Value | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Djibouti | 21.50 | 2012 |
| 2 | Sudan | 16.30 | 2014 |
| 3 | Mauritius | 15.70 | 1995 |
| 4 | Eritrea | 14.60 | 2010 |
| 5 | Somalia | 14.30 | 2009 |
| 6 | Chad | 13.90 | 2019 |
| 7 | Mauritania | 11.50 | 2018 |
| 8 | Comoros | 11.20 | 2012 |
| 9 | Libya | 10.20 | 2014 |
| 10 | Niger | 9.80 | 2019 |
| 11 | Egypt | 9.50 | 2014 |
| 12 | Mali | 9.30 | 2019 |
| 13 | Guinea | 9.20 | 2018 |
| 14 | Congo | 8.20 | 2014 |
| 15 | Burkina Faso | 8.10 | 2019 |
| 15 | Senegal | 8.10 | 2019 |
| 17 | Guinea-Bissau | 7.80 | 2019 |
| 18 | Botswana | 7.30 | 2007 |
| 19 | Ethiopia | 7.20 | 2019 |
| 20 | Namibia | 7.10 | 2013 |
| 21 | Cabo Verde | 6.90 | 1994 |
| 22 | Ghana | 6.80 | 2017 |
| 23 | Nigeria | 6.50 | 2020 |
| 24 | Madagascar | 6.40 | 2018 |
| 24 | Dem. Rep. Congo | 6.40 | 2017 |
| 26 | Côte d'Ivoire | 6.10 | 2016 |
| 27 | Togo | 5.70 | 2017 |
| 28 | Sierra Leone | 5.40 | 2019 |
| 29 | Central African Republic | 5.20 | 2019 |
| 30 | The Gambia | 5.10 | 2020 |
| 31 | Benin | 5.00 | 2018 |
| 32 | Angola | 4.90 | 2015 |
| 33 | Burundi | 4.80 | 2019 |
| 34 | Mozambique | 4.40 | 2015 |
| 35 | Cameroon | 4.30 | 2018 |
| 35 | Seychelles | 4.30 | 2012 |
| 37 | Zambia | 4.20 | 2018 |
| 37 | Kenya | 4.20 | 2014 |
| 39 | São Tomé and Principe | 4.10 | 2019 |
| 40 | Tanzania | 3.50 | 2018 |
| 40 | Uganda | 3.50 | 2016 |
| 42 | South Africa | 3.40 | 2017 |
| 42 | Liberia | 3.40 | 2019 |
| 42 | Gabon | 3.40 | 2012 |
| 45 | Equatorial Guinea | 3.10 | 2011 |
| 46 | Zimbabwe | 2.90 | 2019 |
| 47 | Algeria | 2.70 | 2019 |
| 48 | Morocco | 2.60 | 2017 |
| 49 | Lesotho | 2.10 | 2018 |
| 49 | Tunisia | 2.10 | 2018 |
| 51 | Eswatini | 2.00 | 2014 |
| 52 | Rwanda | 1.10 | 2020 |
| 53 | Malawi | 0.60 | 2019 |
More rankings: Africa | Asia | Central America & the Caribbean | Europe | Middle East | North America | Oceania | South America | World |
Aggregation method: Linear mixed-effect model estimates
Periodicity: Annual
General Comments: Undernourished children have lower resistance to infection and are more likely to die from common childhood ailments such as diarrheal diseases and respiratory infections. Frequent illness saps the nutritional status of those who survive, locking them int
