Percentage of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modelled) in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: Percentage of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modelled) was 25.2 % in 2024. ▼ Falling
Percentage of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modelled) in Sierra Leone, 2000–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.
Analysis
Sierra Leone recorded 25.2 % for percentage of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modelled) in 2024.
That represents a change of up 0.4% on the previous year and down 20.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, percentage of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modelled) in Sierra Leone peaked at 38.8 % in 2001 and was at its lowest, 25.1 %, in 2023.
Sierra Leone ranks 33rd of 147 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Percentage of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modelled) in Sierra Leone, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 38.7 % | — |
| 2001 | 38.8 % | +0.3% |
| 2002 | 38.8 % | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 38.6 % | -0.5% |
| 2004 | 38.4 % | -0.5% |
| 2005 | 38.1 % | -0.8% |
| 2006 | 37.8 % | -0.8% |
| 2007 | 37.3 % | -1.3% |
| 2008 | 36.7 % | -1.6% |
| 2009 | 35.9 % | -2.2% |
| 2010 | 35.1 % | -2.2% |
| 2011 | 34.3 % | -2.3% |
| 2012 | 33.3 % | -2.9% |
| 2013 | 32.4 % | -2.7% |
| 2014 | 31.5 % | -2.8% |
| 2015 | 30.9 % | -1.9% |
| 2016 | 30.2 % | -2.3% |
| 2017 | 29.4 % | -2.6% |
| 2018 | 28.5 % | -3.1% |
| 2019 | 27.4 % | -3.9% |
| 2020 | 26.5 % | -3.3% |
| 2021 | 25.7 % | -3.0% |
| 2022 | 25.4 % | -1.2% |
| 2023 | 25.1 % | -1.2% |
| 2024 | 25.2 % | +0.4% |
Sierra Leone compared with similar countries
- Sierra Leone's 25.2 % is below the median for low income countries, which is 32.35 %, 78% of the median. (22 countries reporting)
- Sierra Leone's 25.2 % is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 24.8 %, 1.0× the median. (44 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 37.91 % | 35.9 % | 38.8 % | 10 |
| 2010s | 31.3 % | 27.4 % | 35.1 % | 10 |
| 2020s | 25.58 % | 25.1 % | 26.5 % | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sierra Leone
More agriculture & rural data for Sierra Leone
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 8.47 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.2954 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 250 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 1 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0006 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.5407 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 29.5% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 29.5% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 9.4% (2018)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.6% (2018)
Frequently asked questions
- What is percentage of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modelled) in Sierra Leone?
- Percentage of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modelled) in Sierra Leone was 25.2 % in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest percentage of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modelled) recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 38.8 % in 2001.
- What is the lowest percentage of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modelled) recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 25.1 % in 2023.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for percentage of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modelled)?
- Sierra Leone ranks 33rd out of 147 countries with data for 2024.
- Is percentage of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modelled) rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is down 20.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sierra Leone data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Percentage of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modelled estimates) (percent) — Value. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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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.