Share of children who are stunted vs. improved sanitation facilities in Mexico

Mexico: Share of children who are stunted vs. improved sanitation facilities was 12.5% in 2022. ▼ Falling

Latest (2022)
12.5%
Change on year
down 2.3%
World rank
68th
of 97 countries
All-time high
26.9%
in 1988
All-time low
10.0%
in 2016
Years of data
14
1988–2022

Share of children who are stunted vs. improved sanitation facilities in Mexico, 1988–2022

01020301988200520221988: 26.9 %1989: 26 %1996: 25.8 %1998: 21.4 %2002: 18.9 %2005: 19.4 %2006: 15.5 %2012: 13.6 %2015: 12.4 %2016: 10 %2019: 14.1 %2020: 13.9 %2021: 12.8 %2022: 12.5 %

Source: World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2022, share of children who are stunted vs. improved sanitation facilities in Mexico stood at 12.5%.

The figure is down 2.3% on the previous year and down 8.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of children who are stunted vs. improved sanitation facilities in Mexico peaked at 26.9% in 1988 and was at its lowest, 10.0%, in 2016.

That places Mexico 68th out of 97 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 14 years of available data.

Share of children who are stunted vs. improved sanitation facilities in Mexico, year by year

Annual values for Share of children who are stunted vs. improved sanitation facilities in Mexico, 1988 to 2022.
Year % Change
1988 26.9% —
1989 26.0% -3.3%
1996 25.8% -0.8%
1998 21.4% -17.1%
2002 18.9% -11.7%
2005 19.4% +2.6%
2006 15.5% -20.1%
2012 13.6% -12.3%
2015 12.4% -8.8%
2016 10.0% -19.4%
2019 14.1% +41.0%
2020 13.9% -1.4%
2021 12.8% -7.9%
2022 12.5% -2.3%

Mexico compared with similar countries

  • Mexico's 12.5% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 10.5%, 1.2× the median. (27 countries reporting)
  • Mexico's 12.5% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 12.6%, 99% of the median. (16 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 26.4% 26.0% 26.9% 2
1990s 23.6% 21.4% 25.8% 2
2000s 17.9% 15.5% 19.4% 3
2010s 12.5% 10.0% 14.1% 4
2020s 13.1% 12.5% 13.9% 3

Countries ranked near Mexico

  1. 66 Colombia 12.7% compare
  2. 67 Iraq 12.6% compare
  3. 69 Thailand 12.4% compare
  4. 70 Peru 11.5% compare
  5. 71 Oman 11.4% compare

See the full ranking of 97 places →

More reference data data for Mexico

All data for Mexico →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of children who are stunted vs. improved sanitation facilities in Mexico?
Share of children who are stunted vs. improved sanitation facilities in Mexico was 12.5% in 2022, according to World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of children who are stunted vs. improved sanitation facilities recorded in Mexico?
The highest recorded value was 26.9% in 1988.
What is the lowest share of children who are stunted vs. improved sanitation facilities recorded in Mexico?
The lowest recorded value was 10.0% in 2016.
How does Mexico rank for share of children who are stunted vs. improved sanitation facilities?
Mexico ranks 68th out of 97 countries with data for 2022.
Is share of children who are stunted vs. improved sanitation facilities rising or falling in Mexico?
Over the last ten years it is down 8.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Mexico data come from?
The figures come from World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children who are stunted vs. improved sanitation facilities. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Share of children who are stunted vs. improved sanitation facilities in Mexico. Statizoid, drawing on World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 30 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/prevalence-of-stunting-vs-improved-sanitation-facilities/mexico/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/prevalence-of-stunting-vs-improved-sanitation-facilities/mexico/">Share of children who are stunted vs. improved sanitation facilities in Mexico</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Share of children who are stunted vs. improved sanitation facilities
Unit
%
Source
World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
97 places, 955 data points, 1985–2024
Last refreshed

A child is defined as stunted if their height-for-age is more than two standard deviations below the median for the international reference population ages 0-59 months. Improved sanitation facilities are those designed to separate excreta from human contact hygienically.