Proportion of children moderately or severely wasted in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Proportion of children moderately or severely wasted was 5.5% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Proportion of children moderately or severely wasted in Sub-Saharan Africa, 2000–2024
Source: United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
Analysis
In 2024, proportion of children moderately or severely wasted in Sub-Saharan Africa stood at 5.5%. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of down 1.8% on the previous year and down 17.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, proportion of children moderately or severely wasted in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 8.7% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 5.5%, in 2024.
That places Sub-Saharan Africa 8th out of 23 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Proportion of children moderately or severely wasted in Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 8.7% | — |
| 2001 | 8.5% | -2.3% |
| 2002 | 8.4% | -1.2% |
| 2003 | 8.2% | -2.4% |
| 2004 | 8.1% | -1.2% |
| 2005 | 7.9% | -2.5% |
| 2006 | 7.8% | -1.3% |
| 2007 | 7.6% | -2.6% |
| 2008 | 7.5% | -1.3% |
| 2009 | 7.3% | -2.7% |
| 2010 | 7.2% | -1.4% |
| 2011 | 7.1% | -1.4% |
| 2012 | 6.9% | -2.8% |
| 2013 | 6.8% | -1.4% |
| 2014 | 6.7% | -1.5% |
| 2015 | 6.6% | -1.5% |
| 2016 | 6.4% | -3.0% |
| 2017 | 6.3% | -1.6% |
| 2018 | 6.2% | -1.6% |
| 2019 | 6.1% | -1.6% |
| 2020 | 5.9% | -3.3% |
| 2021 | 5.8% | -1.7% |
| 2022 | 5.7% | -1.7% |
| 2023 | 5.6% | -1.8% |
| 2024 | 5.5% | -1.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 8.0% | 7.3% | 8.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.6% | 6.1% | 7.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.7% | 5.5% | 5.9% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
More environment data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -7.11 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -6.36 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.223 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.21 °C (2025)
- Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 305.43 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Aquaculture production 904,662 metric tons (2024)
- Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 2.29 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Transport (Energy) 2.96 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Permanent meadows and pastures — Share in Agricultural land 72.81 % (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is proportion of children moderately or severely wasted in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Proportion of children moderately or severely wasted in Sub-Saharan Africa was 5.5% in 2024, according to United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
- What is the highest proportion of children moderately or severely wasted recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 8.7% in 2000.
- What is the lowest proportion of children moderately or severely wasted recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.5% in 2024.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for proportion of children moderately or severely wasted?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 8th out of 23 groups with data for 2024.
- Is proportion of children moderately or severely wasted rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 17.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa data come from?
- The figures come from United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database, published as part of Proportion of children moderately or severely wasted (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under UN SDG Global Database (open, attribution requested).