Number of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modeled) in Western Africa

Western Africa: Number of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modeled) was 19.9 million No in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
19.9 million No
Change on year
up 1.5%
Rank
11th
of 36 groups
All-time high
20.2 million No
in 2015
All-time low
16.7 million No
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Number of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modeled) in Western Africa, 2000–2024

051015202000201220242000: 16.7 million No2001: 17.2 million No2002: 17.6 million No2003: 18.1 million No2004: 18.4 million No2005: 18.8 million No2006: 19.1 million No2007: 19.4 million No2008: 19.6 million No2009: 19.7 million No2010: 19.8 million No2011: 19.9 million No2012: 19.9 million No2013: 20 million No2014: 20.1 million No2015: 20.2 million No2016: 20.2 million No2017: 20 million No2018: 19.8 million No2019: 19.5 million No2020: 19.3 million No2021: 19.2 million No2022: 19.3 million No2023: 19.6 million No2024: 19.9 million No

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 Western Africa stood at 19.9 million No.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.5% on the previous year and down 1.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modeled) in Western Africa peaked at 20.2 million No in 2015 and was at its lowest, 16.7 million No, in 2000.

Western Africa ranks 11th of 36 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.

Number of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modeled) in Western Africa, year by year

Annual values for Number of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modeled estimates) (million) — Value in Western Africa, 2000 to 2024.
Year million No Change
2000 16.7 million No
2001 17.2 million No +3.0%
2002 17.6 million No +2.3%
2003 18.1 million No +2.8%
2004 18.4 million No +1.7%
2005 18.8 million No +2.2%
2006 19.1 million No +1.6%
2007 19.4 million No +1.6%
2008 19.6 million No +1.0%
2009 19.7 million No +0.5%
2010 19.8 million No +0.5%
2011 19.9 million No +0.5%
2012 19.9 million No +0.0%
2013 20 million No +0.5%
2014 20.1 million No +0.5%
2015 20.2 million No +0.5%
2016 20.2 million No +0.0%
2017 20 million No -1.0%
2018 19.8 million No -1.0%
2019 19.5 million No -1.5%
2020 19.3 million No -1.0%
2021 19.2 million No -0.5%
2022 19.3 million No +0.5%
2023 19.6 million No +1.6%
2024 19.9 million No +1.5%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 18.46 million No 16.7 million No 19.7 million No 10
2010s 19.94 million No 19.5 million No 20.2 million No 10
2020s 19.46 million No 19.2 million No 19.9 million No 5

Countries ranked near Western Africa

  1. 8 Angola 3 million No compare
  2. 8 Syrian Arab Republic 0.6 million No compare
  3. 8 Melanesia 0.6 million No compare
  4. 9 Afghanistan 2.8 million No compare
  5. 10 Democratic People's Republic of Korea 0.3 million No compare
  6. 10 Iran (Islamic Republic of) 0.3 million No compare
  7. 10 Sudan 2.7 million No compare
  8. 10 Türkiye 0.3 million No compare
  9. 11 Philippines 2.5 million No compare
  10. 12 China 2.4 million No compare
  11. 13 Lao People's Democratic Republic 0.2 million No compare
  12. 13 Niger 2.3 million No compare
  13. 13 Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) 0.2 million No compare
  14. 14 Mozambique 2.1 million No compare

See the full ranking of 148 places →

More agriculture & rural data for Western Africa

All data for Western Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is number of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modeled) in Western Africa?
Number of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modeled) in Western Africa was 19.9 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 Western Africa?
The highest recorded value was 20.2 million No in 2015.
What is the lowest number of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modeled) recorded in Western Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 16.7 million No in 2000.
How does Western Africa rank for number of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modeled)?
Western Africa ranks 11th 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 Western Africa?
Over the last ten years it is down 1.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Western Africa 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.

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Number of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modeled) in Western Africa. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 17 September 2026, from https://agriculture.statizoid.com/stat/number-of-children-under-5-years-of-age-who-are-stunted-modeled-estimates-million-value/western-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Number of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modeled estimates) (million) — Value
Unit
million No
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
148 places, 3,499 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

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.