Share of children younger than 5 who suffer from stunting in Malawi

Malawi: Share of children younger than 5 who suffer from stunting was 35.5 in 2020. ▼ Falling

Latest (2020)
35.5
Change on year
up 4.4%
World rank
14th
of 97 countries
All-time high
62.3
in 1998
All-time low
34
in 2019
Years of data
16
1992–2020

Share of children younger than 5 who suffer from stunting in Malawi, 1992–2020

02040601992200620201992: 55.41995: 53.81998: 62.32000: 54.72002: 58.32004: 52.52006: 53.12009: 48.82010: 47.32014: 42.42015: 37.42016: 38.32017: 39.32018: 392019: 342020: 35.5

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

Malawi recorded 35.5 for share of children younger than 5 who suffer from stunting in 2020.

The figure is up 4.4% on the previous year and down 24.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of children younger than 5 who suffer from stunting in Malawi peaked at 62.3 in 1998 and was at its lowest, 34, in 2019.

That places Malawi 14th out of 97 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 16 years of available data.

Share of children younger than 5 who suffer from stunting in Malawi, year by year

Annual values for Share of children younger than 5 who suffer from stunting in Malawi, 1992 to 2020.
Year Value Change
1992 55.4
1995 53.8 -2.9%
1998 62.3 +15.8%
2000 54.7 -12.2%
2002 58.3 +6.6%
2004 52.5 -9.9%
2006 53.1 +1.1%
2009 48.8 -8.1%
2010 47.3 -3.1%
2014 42.4 -10.4%
2015 37.4 -11.8%
2016 38.3 +2.4%
2017 39.3 +2.6%
2018 39 -0.8%
2019 34 -12.8%
2020 35.5 +4.4%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 57.17 53.8 62.3 3
2000s 53.48 48.8 58.3 5
2010s 39.67 34 47.3 7
2020s 35.5 35.5 35.5 1

Countries ranked near Malawi

  1. 11 Ethiopia 36.8 compare
  2. 12 Mozambique 36.7 compare
  3. 13 Lesotho 35.6 compare
  4. 14 India 35.5 compare
  5. 16 Zambia 34.6 compare
  6. 17 Benin 34.1 compare

See the full ranking of 97 places →

More reference data data for Malawi

All data for Malawi →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of children younger than 5 who suffer from stunting in Malawi?
Share of children younger than 5 who suffer from stunting in Malawi was 35.5 in 2020, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of children younger than 5 who suffer from stunting recorded in Malawi?
The highest recorded value was 62.3 in 1998.
What is the lowest share of children younger than 5 who suffer from stunting recorded in Malawi?
The lowest recorded value was 34 in 2019.
How does Malawi rank for share of children younger than 5 who suffer from stunting?
Malawi ranks 14th out of 97 countries with data for 2020.
Is share of children younger than 5 who suffer from stunting rising or falling in Malawi?
Over the last ten years it is down 24.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Malawi data come from?
The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children younger than 5 who suffer from stunting. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 16 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 younger than 5 who suffer from stunting in Malawi. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 25 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/share-of-children-younger-than-5-who-suffer-from-stunting/malawi/

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/share-of-children-younger-than-5-who-suffer-from-stunting/malawi/">Share of children younger than 5 who suffer from stunting in Malawi</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Share of children younger than 5 who suffer from stunting
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
97 places, 955 data points, 1985–2024
Last refreshed