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Indicator

Child Stunting by African country

2024

Share of children under 5 who are stunted (low height-for-age), a marker of chronic undernutrition.

Africa, 202454 of 54 countries
28.7%population-weighted average
Highest in 2024Burundi · 55.3%Lowest in 2024Cabo Verde · 5.3%Reported in 20240 of 54 countries surveyed
Click a country to pin it — pinned countries are named on the map. Hatching means no record.
Western Sahara — no separate recordTanzania — 29.9%Democratic Republic of the Congo — 44.1%Somalia — 23.9%Kenya — 17.9%Sudan — 35.4%Chad — 31.5%South Africa — 24.4%Lesotho — 35.0%Zimbabwe — 23.7%Botswana — 21.0%Namibia — 16.4%Senegal — 17.2%Mali — 23.2%Mauritania — 21.5%Benin — 33.2%Niger — 48.3%Nigeria — 33.8%Cameroon — 27.2%Togo — 23.0%Ghana — 15.6%Cote d'Ivoire — 20.3%Guinea — 26.6%Guinea-Bissau — 28.3%Liberia — 26.9%Sierra Leone — 25.2%Burkina Faso — 19.5%Central African Republic — 38.9%Republic of the Congo — 16.3%Gabon — 13.7%Equatorial Guinea — 17.1%Zambia — 32.3%Malawi — 33.2%Mozambique — 37.0%Eswatini — 18.9%Angola — 47.7%Burundi — 55.3%Madagascar — 38.4%Gambia — 14.0%Tunisia — 8.9%Algeria — 8.9%Eritrea — 48.0%Morocco — 13.7%Egypt — 12.9%Libya — 9.2%Ethiopia — 35.5%Djibouti — 20.9%Uganda — 23.5%Rwanda — 29.8%South Sudan — 30.0%Nigeria 33.8%Nigeria 33.8%Ethiopia 35.5%Ethiopia 35.5%Kenya 17.9%Kenya 17.9%South Africa 24.4%South Africa 24.4%2024HIGHEST IN 2024Burundi55.3%Niger48.3%Eritrea48.0%Angola47.7%Democratic Republic of the Congo44.1%LOWEST IN 2024Cabo Verdenot drawn5.3%Seychellesnot drawn6.2%Mauritiusnot drawn7.8%Tunisia8.9%Algeria8.9%PINNEDEthiopia35.5%9 of 54Kenya17.9%37 of 54Nigeria33.8%12 of 54South Africa24.4%25 of 54OTHER ISLAND STATES · NOT DRAWNComorosnot drawn17.4%Sao Tome and Principenot drawn10.0%% of children · quintiles of the observed range5.3%14%20.9%26.6%33.8%55.3%no record
20142024
UNICEF · national statistics offices · the provider's own estimates where a country has not reportedCC BY 4.0
Countries

By region

Population-weighted, so a region’s figure is the share of its people, not the average of its countries.
Middle Africa9 of 9 countries39.6%
Eastern Africa18 of 18 countries31.0%
Western Africa16 of 16 countries29.3%
Southern Africa5 of 5 countries24.2%
Northern Africa6 of 6 countries16.2%
Africaall 54 countries · 54 with a 2024 figure28.7%

What to know before you quote this

Specific to this series. For how we treat data generally, see methods.
54 countries have a modelled 2024 figureThe provider estimated or projected it rather than measuring it that year. Those points are tagged Modelled in the table and drawn like any other on the map — read the tag before you quote the number.
Certainty is judged year by yearA country can be Reported in one year and Modelled the next. The tag follows the year on the scrubber, so the 2024 assessment is not a verdict on the whole series.

About this data

Child StuntingShare of children under 5 who are stunted (low height-for-age), a marker of chronic undernutrition.
SourceUNICEF, with processing by Africa API
Unit% of children
Last updated15 Aug 2026
Next expected updateAug 2027
Date range2000–2024
Coverage54 of 54 countries · 0 reported, 54 modelled, 0 with no usable figure

How the figure is made

ReportedA national statistics office or the original provider published the figure for that year directly. 0 countries did so for 2024 — the certainty shown on this page is that 2024 assessment, not a per-series one.ModelledNo direct figure that year. The provider’s own estimate, interpolation or projection stands in, and is marked as such wherever it appears.No dataNo usable figure within the window. Drawn hatched on the map and left blank in the table — not zero, and not filled in.

These three states are used the same way across every indicator on the site — how we treat certainty explains the full set and what we never do to a number.

Reuse and cite

Everything on this page is open under CC BY 4.0 — use it anywhere, including commercially, as long as Africa API and the original provider are credited. The provider’s own licence still applies to their data.

How to cite this page
Africa API (2026) — "Child Stunting". Data adapted from UNICEF. Retrieved 18 Oct 2026 from africa-api.com/indicators/child-stunting
The request behind this view
GET /v1/data?metric_key=stunting_under5_pct&year=2024&limit=100

Read next

The measures that explain this one.
Child WelfareChild WastingShare of children under 5 who are wasted (low weight-for-height), a marker of acute undernutrition.Child WelfareBirth RegistrationShare of children under 5 whose births are registered with a civil authority (UNICEF).Child WelfareChild MarriageShare of women aged 20-24 who were first married or in union before age 18 (UNICEF).

Child Stunting: most recent figure per country, highest to lowest

54 countries · each with its own period

The figures at the top of the page compare every country in the same year. This list takes each country’s newest figure instead, whatever its period, so the order can differ.

#CountryChild StuntingPeriod
1Burundi55.3%2024
2Niger48.3%2024
3Eritrea48%2024
4Angola47.7%2024
5Democratic Republic of the Congo44.1%2024
6Central African Republic38.9%2024
7Madagascar38.4%2024
8Mozambique37%2024
9Ethiopia35.5%2024
10Sudan35.4%2024
11Lesotho35%2024
12Nigeria33.8%2024
13Benin33.2%2024
14Malawi33.2%2024
15Zambia32.3%2024
16Chad31.5%2024
17South Sudan30%2024
18Tanzania29.9%2024
19Rwanda29.8%2024
20Guinea-Bissau28.3%2024
21Cameroon27.2%2024
22Liberia26.9%2024
23Guinea26.6%2024
24Sierra Leone25.2%2024
25South Africa24.4%2024
26Somalia23.9%2024
27Zimbabwe23.7%2024
28Uganda23.5%2024
29Mali23.2%2024
30Togo23%2024
31Mauritania21.5%2024
32Botswana21%2024
33Djibouti20.9%2024
34Cote d'Ivoire20.3%2024
35Burkina Faso19.5%2024
36Eswatini18.9%2024
37Kenya17.9%2024
38Comoros17.4%2024
39Senegal17.2%2024
40Equatorial Guinea17.1%2024
41Namibia16.4%2024
42Republic of the Congo16.3%2024
43Ghana15.6%2024
44Gambia14%2024
45Gabon13.7%2024
46Morocco13.7%2024
47Egypt12.9%2024
48Sao Tome and Principe10%2024
49Libya9.2%2024
50Algeria8.9%2024
51Tunisia8.9%2024
52Mauritius7.8%2024
53Seychelles6.2%2024
54Cabo Verde5.3%2024
Which observations are included?
The ranking includes 54 of 54 countries with available observations for 2023 or later and within 2 years of the freshest result. Each figure shows its reporting period. Countries without an eligible observation are omitted.
Does a higher value mean a better result?
The ranking is sorted by value, from highest to lowest. The order does not rate a country's performance. Interpretation depends on the indicator and its definition.

Embed this ranking

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