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

Sri Lanka: Share of children with a weight too low for their height wasting was 9.3 in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
9.3
Change on year
down 7.0%
World rank
13th
of 99 countries
All-time high
21.3
in 2012
All-time low
8.2
in 2021
Years of data
14
1987–2024

Share of children with a weight too low for their height wasting in Sri Lanka, 1987–2024

051015201987200520241987: 13.31993: 15.21995: 15.32000: 15.92007: 15.22009: 11.82012: 21.32016: 15.12019: 9.92020: 8.62021: 8.22022: 10.12023: 102024: 9.3

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

Sri Lanka recorded 9.3 for share of children with a weight too low for their height wasting in 2024.

That represents a change of down 7.0% on the previous year and down 56.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of children with a weight too low for their height wasting in Sri Lanka peaked at 21.3 in 2012 and was at its lowest, 8.2, in 2021.

Sri Lanka ranks 13th of 99 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

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

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

Annual values for Share of children with a weight too low for their height wasting in Sri Lanka, 1987 to 2024.
Year Value Change
1987 13.3
1993 15.2 +14.3%
1995 15.3 +0.7%
2000 15.9 +3.9%
2007 15.2 -4.4%
2009 11.8 -22.4%
2012 21.3 +80.5%
2016 15.1 -29.1%
2019 9.9 -34.4%
2020 8.6 -13.1%
2021 8.2 -4.7%
2022 10.1 +23.2%
2023 10 -1.0%
2024 9.3 -7.0%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 13.3 13.3 13.3 1
1990s 15.25 15.2 15.3 2
2000s 14.3 11.8 15.9 3
2010s 15.43 9.9 21.3 3
2020s 9.24 8.2 10.1 5

Countries ranked near Sri Lanka

  1. 11 Senegal 10.2 compare
  2. 12 Cambodia 9.6 compare
  3. 13 Burkina Faso 9.3 compare
  4. 13 Oman 9.3 compare
  5. 16 Maldives 9.1 compare

See the full ranking of 99 places →

More reference data data for Sri Lanka

All data for Sri Lanka →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of children with a weight too low for their height wasting in Sri Lanka?
Share of children with a weight too low for their height wasting in Sri Lanka was 9.3 in 2024, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of children with a weight too low for their height wasting recorded in Sri Lanka?
The highest recorded value was 21.3 in 2012.
What is the lowest share of children with a weight too low for their height wasting recorded in Sri Lanka?
The lowest recorded value was 8.2 in 2021.
How does Sri Lanka rank for share of children with a weight too low for their height wasting?
Sri Lanka ranks 13th out of 99 countries with data for 2024.
Is share of children with a weight too low for their height wasting rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
Over the last ten years it is down 56.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Sri Lanka 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 Sri Lanka. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 25 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/share-of-children-with-a-weight-too-low-for-their-height-wasting/sri-lanka/

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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