Prevalence of wasting, weight for height (% of children under 5) - Africa

Definition: Prevalence of wasting is the proportion of children under age 5 whose weight for height is more than two standard deviations below the median for the international reference population ages 0-59.

Description: The map below shows how Prevalence of wasting, weight for height (% of children under 5) varies by country in Africa. The shade of the country corresponds to the magnitude of the indicator. The darker the shade, the higher the value. The country with the highest value in the region is Djibouti, with a value of 21.50. The country with the lowest value in the region is Malawi, with a value of 0.60.

Source: UNICEF, WHO, World Bank: Joint child malnutrition estimates (JME). Aggregation is based on UNICEF, WHO, and the World Bank harmonized dataset (adjusted, comparable data) and methodology.

See also: Country ranking, Time series comparison

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Aggregation method: Linear mixed-effect model estimates

Periodicity: Annual

General Comments: Undernourished children have lower resistance to infection and are more likely to die from common childhood ailments such as diarrheal diseases and respiratory infections. Frequent illness saps the nutritional status of those who survive, locking them int