Share of children with a weight too low for their height wasting in Nigeria

Nigeria: Share of children with a weight too low for their height wasting was 11.6 in 2021. ▼ Falling

Latest (2021)
11.6
Change on year
up 78.5%
World rank
5th
of 99 countries
All-time high
20.6
in 1993
All-time low
6.5
in 2020
Years of data
10
1990–2021

Share of children with a weight too low for their height wasting in Nigeria, 1990–2021

51015201990200520211990: 11.71993: 20.62003: 11.22011: 10.22014: 7.92015: 7.32016: 10.82018: 6.82020: 6.52021: 11.6

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

In 2021, share of children with a weight too low for their height wasting in Nigeria stood at 11.6.

The figure is up 78.5% on the previous year and up 13.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of children with a weight too low for their height wasting in Nigeria peaked at 20.6 in 1993 and was at its lowest, 6.5, in 2020.

That places Nigeria 5th out of 99 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 10 years of available data.

Share of children with a weight too low for their height wasting in Nigeria, year by year

Annual values for Share of children with a weight too low for their height wasting in Nigeria, 1990 to 2021.
Year Value Change
1990 11.7
1993 20.6 +76.1%
2003 11.2 -45.6%
2011 10.2 -8.9%
2014 7.9 -22.5%
2015 7.3 -7.6%
2016 10.8 +47.9%
2018 6.8 -37.0%
2020 6.5 -4.4%
2021 11.6 +78.5%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 16.15 11.7 20.6 2
2000s 11.2 11.2 11.2 1
2010s 8.6 6.8 10.8 5
2020s 9.05 6.5 11.6 2

Countries ranked near Nigeria

  1. 2 Yemen 16.8 compare
  2. 3 Mauritania 13.6 compare
  3. 4 Djibouti 12.1 compare
  4. 6 Syrian Arab Republic 11.5 compare
  5. 7 Malaysia 11 compare
  6. 8 Niger 10.9 compare

See the full ranking of 99 places →

More reference data data for Nigeria

All data for Nigeria →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of children with a weight too low for their height wasting in Nigeria?
Share of children with a weight too low for their height wasting in Nigeria was 11.6 in 2021, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of children with a weight too low for their height wasting recorded in Nigeria?
The highest recorded value was 20.6 in 1993.
What is the lowest share of children with a weight too low for their height wasting recorded in Nigeria?
The lowest recorded value was 6.5 in 2020.
How does Nigeria rank for share of children with a weight too low for their height wasting?
Nigeria ranks 5th out of 99 countries with data for 2021.
Is share of children with a weight too low for their height wasting rising or falling in Nigeria?
Over the last ten years it is up 13.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Nigeria data come from?
The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children with a weight too low for their height wasting. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Share of children with a weight too low for their height wasting in Nigeria. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/share-of-children-with-a-weight-too-low-for-their-height-wasting/nigeria/

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About this data

Indicator
Share of children with a weight too low for their height wasting
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
99 places, 962 data points, 1984–2024
Last refreshed