Stunting vs. GDP per capita by country
Stunting measures the share of children younger than 5 years that are too short for their age. GDP per capita is adjusted for inflation and differences in living costs between countries.
Countries reporting
97
Highest
52.8%
Burundi
Lowest
0.9%
South Korea
Median
18.2%
Years covered
40
1985–2024
Data points
955
What the numbers show
Stunting vs. GDP per capita is currently reported for 97 countries. The highest value is 52.8% in Burundi; the lowest is 0.9% in South Korea.
The median across all reporting countries is 18.2%, and the mean is 20.6%.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 59.
Over the past decade 17 countries rose and 78 fell. The largest increase was in United States (up 72.7%), and the largest decrease in Uzbekistan (down 66.8%).
Stunting vs. GDP per capita: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burundi | 52.8% | 2024 | up 1.5% | flat |
| 2 | Yemen | 48.5% | 2022 | up 4.1% | falling |
| 3 | Niger | 47.7% | 2022 | up 19.5% | flat |
| 4 | East Timor | 46.7% | 2020 | down 18.8% | falling |
| 5 | Guatemala | 46.0% | 2021 | down 10.7% | falling |
| 6 | Democratic Republic of Congo | 44.7% | 2023 | up 4.7% | falling |
| 7 | Afghanistan | 44.6% | 2022 | up 10.4% | falling |
| 8 | Madagascar | 39.8% | 2021 | down 20.2% | falling |
| 9 | Central African Republic | 37.9% | 2022 | down 4.5% | falling |
| 10 | Pakistan | 37.6% | 2018 | down 13.8% | falling |
| 11 | Ethiopia | 36.8% | 2019 | down 17.1% | falling |
| 12 | Mozambique | 36.7% | 2022 | down 14.5% | falling |
| 13 | Lesotho | 35.6% | 2024 | up 6.6% | falling |
| 14 | India | 35.5% | 2020 | down 25.7% | falling |
| 14 | Malawi | 35.5% | 2020 | down 24.9% | falling |
| 16 | Zambia | 34.6% | 2018 | down 24.5% | falling |
| 17 | Benin | 34.1% | 2021 | down 8.8% | flat |
| 18 | Nigeria | 33.8% | 2021 | down 5.6% | falling |
| 19 | Rwanda | 33.1% | 2020 | down 25.3% | falling |
| 20 | Laos | 32.8% | 2023 | down 25.8% | falling |
| 21 | Chad | 31.9% | 2022 | down 17.6% | falling |
| 22 | Tanzania | 30.0% | 2022 | down 14.3% | falling |
| 23 | Liberia | 29.8% | 2019 | down 17.5% | falling |
| 24 | Cameroon | 28.9% | 2018 | down 23.1% | falling |
| 25 | Guinea-Bissau | 28.1% | 2019 | up 1.8% | falling |
| 26 | Syria | 27.9% | 2010 | up 14.8% | falling |
| 27 | Myanmar | 26.7% | 2018 | down 23.9% | falling |
| 27 | Philippines | 26.7% | 2021 | down 20.1% | falling |
| 29 | Sierra Leone | 26.3% | 2021 | down 19.6% | falling |
| 30 | Guinea | 26.1% | 2022 | down 16.1% | falling |
| 31 | Zimbabwe | 25.9% | 2024 | down 6.2% | falling |
| 32 | Djibouti | 25.5% | 2023 | down 8.9% | falling |
| 33 | Mali | 25.1% | 2024 | down 10.7% | falling |
| 33 | Mauritania | 25.1% | 2022 | up 8.2% | falling |
| 35 | Nepal | 24.8% | 2022 | down 38.2% | falling |
| 36 | Uganda | 24.4% | 2022 | down 27.6% | falling |
| 37 | Togo | 23.8% | 2017 | down 20.4% | falling |
| 38 | Bangladesh | 23.6% | 2022 | down 36.2% | falling |
| 39 | Cote d'Ivoire | 23.4% | 2021 | down 14.0% | flat |
| 40 | Haiti | 22.0% | 2023 | up 0.5% | falling |
| 40 | Indonesia | 22.0% | 2023 | down 39.6% | falling |
| 42 | Cambodia | 21.9% | 2021 | down 45.0% | falling |
| 43 | South Africa | 21.3% | 2017 | down 14.8% | falling |
| 44 | Malaysia | 21.2% | 2022 | up 19.1% | rising |
| 45 | Burkina Faso | 21.1% | 2021 | down 39.0% | falling |
| 46 | Eswatini | 20.0% | 2021 | down 35.3% | falling |
| 47 | North Korea | 19.1% | 2017 | down 41.0% | falling |
| 48 | Honduras | 18.7% | 2019 | down 37.2% | falling |
| 49 | Comoros | 18.2% | 2022 | down 41.5% | falling |
| 49 | Vietnam | 18.2% | 2023 | down 29.7% | falling |
| 51 | Bhutan | 17.9% | 2023 | down 46.6% | falling |
| 52 | Kenya | 17.6% | 2022 | down 33.1% | falling |
| 53 | Gambia | 17.5% | 2020 | down 25.2% | falling |
| 53 | Senegal | 17.5% | 2023 | up 6.1% | falling |
| 55 | Ecuador | 17.4% | 2024 | down 27.2% | falling |
| 55 | Ghana | 17.4% | 2022 | down 23.7% | falling |
| 57 | Nicaragua | 17.3% | 2012 | down 31.1% | falling |
| 58 | Bolivia | 16.1% | 2016 | down 40.6% | falling |
| 59 | Maldives | 15.3% | 2017 | down 19.5% | falling |
| 60 | Morocco | 14.2% | 2019 | down 4.7% | falling |
| 61 | Kyrgyzstan | 14.1% | 2023 | down 21.2% | falling |
| 62 | Tajikistan | 13.7% | 2023 | down 49.1% | falling |
| 63 | Venezuela | 13.4% | 2009 | down 26.8% | flat |
| 64 | Egypt | 12.8% | 2021 | down 58.3% | falling |
| 64 | Romania | 12.8% | 2002 | up 14.3% | rising |
| 66 | Colombia | 12.7% | 2016 | down 20.6% | falling |
| 67 | Iraq | 12.6% | 2018 | down 54.2% | falling |
| 68 | Mexico | 12.5% | 2022 | down 8.1% | falling |
| 69 | Thailand | 12.4% | 2022 | down 24.4% | falling |
| 70 | Peru | 11.5% | 2023 | down 34.7% | falling |
| 71 | Oman | 11.4% | 2017 | up 16.3% | falling |
| 72 | Saudi Arabia | 10.8% | 2020 | down 21.2% | falling |
| 73 | Sri Lanka | 10.5% | 2024 | down 28.1% | falling |
| 74 | El Salvador | 10.0% | 2021 | down 51.9% | falling |
| 75 | Algeria | 9.8% | 2019 | down 36.4% | falling |
| 76 | Guyana | 9.5% | 2019 | down 50.8% | falling |
| 77 | Armenia | 9.4% | 2016 | down 47.5% | falling |
| 78 | Mongolia | 8.8% | 2023 | down 18.5% | falling |
| 79 | Palestine | 8.7% | 2020 | down 20.2% | falling |
| 80 | Tunisia | 8.4% | 2018 | down 6.7% | falling |
| 81 | Jordan | 8.2% | 2023 | up 5.1% | falling |
| 82 | Kazakhstan | 8.0% | 2015 | down 54.3% | falling |
| 83 | Uruguay | 6.9% | 2018 | down 41.5% | falling |
| 84 | Dominican Republic | 6.7% | 2019 | down 33.7% | falling |
| 85 | Azerbaijan | 6.6% | 2023 | down 62.9% | falling |
| 86 | Uzbekistan | 6.5% | 2021 | down 66.8% | volatile |
| 87 | Turkey | 6.0% | 2018 | down 52.0% | falling |
| 88 | Iran | 4.8% | 2017 | down 32.4% | volatile |
| 88 | China | 4.8% | 2017 | down 51.0% | volatile |
| 90 | Jamaica | 4.6% | 2018 | down 33.3% | falling |
| 91 | United States | 3.8% | 2022 | up 72.7% | rising |
| 92 | Kuwait | 3.2% | 2023 | down 42.9% | rising |
| 93 | Finland | 2.8% | 2023 | up 55.6% | rising |
| 94 | United Kingdom | 2.0% | 2019 | unchanged | flat |
| 95 | Chile | 1.8% | 2014 | down 25.0% | volatile |
| 96 | Belarus | 1.2% | 2023 | — | volatile |
| 97 | South Korea | 0.9% | 2020 | down 30.8% | falling |
About this data
Stunting measures the share of children younger than 5 years that are too short for their age. GDP per capita is adjusted for inflation and differences in living costs between countries.