Number of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modeled) in Latin America and the Caribbean
Latin America and the Caribbean: Number of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modeled) was 5.8 million No in 2024. ▼ Falling
Number of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modeled) in Latin America and the Caribbean, 2000–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in million No.
Analysis
In 2024, number of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modeled) in Latin America and the Caribbean stood at 5.8 million No. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of down 10.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modeled) in Latin America and the Caribbean peaked at 10.1 million No in 2000 and was at its lowest, 5.8 million No, in 2023.
That places Latin America and the Caribbean 16th out of 36 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.
Number of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modeled) in Latin America and the Caribbean, year by year
| Year | million No | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 10.1 million No | — |
| 2001 | 9.8 million No | -3.0% |
| 2002 | 9.6 million No | -2.0% |
| 2003 | 9.3 million No | -3.1% |
| 2004 | 9 million No | -3.2% |
| 2005 | 8.7 million No | -3.3% |
| 2006 | 8.4 million No | -3.4% |
| 2007 | 8.1 million No | -3.6% |
| 2008 | 7.8 million No | -3.7% |
| 2009 | 7.5 million No | -3.8% |
| 2010 | 7.2 million No | -4.0% |
| 2011 | 7 million No | -2.8% |
| 2012 | 6.8 million No | -2.9% |
| 2013 | 6.6 million No | -2.9% |
| 2014 | 6.5 million No | -1.5% |
| 2015 | 6.4 million No | -1.5% |
| 2016 | 6.3 million No | -1.6% |
| 2017 | 6.2 million No | -1.6% |
| 2018 | 6.1 million No | -1.6% |
| 2019 | 6 million No | -1.6% |
| 2020 | 5.9 million No | -1.7% |
| 2021 | 5.9 million No | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 5.9 million No | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 5.8 million No | -1.7% |
| 2024 | 5.8 million No | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 8.83 million No | 7.5 million No | 10.1 million No | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.51 million No | 6 million No | 7.2 million No | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.86 million No | 5.8 million No | 5.9 million No | 5 |
Countries ranked near Latin America and the Caribbean
- 13 Lao People's Democratic Republic 0.2 million No compare
- 13 Niger 2.3 million No compare
- 13 Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) 0.2 million No compare
- 14 Mozambique 2.1 million No compare
- 15 Bolivia (Plurinational State of) 0.1 million No compare
- 15 Timor-Leste 0.1 million No compare
- 15 Uganda 1.9 million No compare
- 16 Madagascar 1.8 million No compare
- 17 Egypt 1.5 million No compare
- 18 South Africa 1.4 million No compare
- 19 Kenya 1.3 million No compare
- 19 Mexico 1.3 million No compare
More agriculture & rural data for Latin America and the Caribbean
- ILO - ILO Modelled Estimates — Share of employment in agriculture in 12.72 % (2025)
- ILO - ILO Modelled Estimates — Employment in agriculture - ILO 9,098 1000 No (2025)
- ILO - ILO Modelled Estimates — Share of employment in agriculture in 7.12 % (2025)
- ILO - ILO Modelled Estimates — Employment in agriculture - ILO 29,996 1000 No (2025)
- ILO - ILO Modelled Estimates — Employment in agriculture - ILO 39,094 1000 No (2025)
- ILO - ILO Modelled Estimates — Share of employment in agriculture in 16.69 % (2025)
- Minimum dietary energy requirement (kcal/cap/day) — Value 1,861 kcal/cap/d (2025)
- Average dietary energy requirement (kcal/cap/day) — Value 2,409 kcal/cap/d (2025)
- Per capita food supply variability (kcal/cap/day) — Value 13 kcal/cap/d (2025)
- Percentage of children under 5 years of age who are overweight 8.8 % (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modeled) in Latin America and the Caribbean?
- Number of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modeled) in Latin America and the Caribbean was 5.8 million No in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest number of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modeled) recorded in Latin America and the Caribbean?
- The highest recorded value was 10.1 million No in 2000.
- What is the lowest number of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modeled) recorded in Latin America and the Caribbean?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.8 million No in 2023.
- How does Latin America and the Caribbean rank for number of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modeled)?
- Latin America and the Caribbean ranks 16th out of 36 groups with data for 2024.
- Is number of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modeled) rising or falling in Latin America and the Caribbean?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Latin America and the Caribbean data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Number of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modeled estimates) (million) — Value. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).
About this data
The Suite of Food Security Indicators presents the core set of food security indicators. Following the recommendation of experts gathered in the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) Round Table on hunger measurement, hosted at FAO headquarters in September 2011, an initial set of indicators aiming to capture various aspects of food insecurity is presented here. The choice of the indicators has been informed by expert judgement and the availability of data with sufficient coverage to enable comparisons across regions and over time. Many of these indicators are produced and published elsewhere by FAO and other international organizations. They are reported here in a single database with the aim of building a wide food security information system. More indicators will be added to this set as more data will become available. Indicators are classified along the four dimensions of food security -- availability, access, utilization and stability.