Percentage of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modelled) in South Africa
South Africa: Percentage of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modelled) was 24.4 % in 2024. ▼ Falling
Percentage of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modelled) in South Africa, 2000–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, percentage of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modelled) in South Africa stood at 24.4 %.
The figure is up 2.1% on the previous year and up 9.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, percentage of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modelled) in South Africa peaked at 26.6 % in 2000 and was at its lowest, 22.1 %, in 2018.
South Africa ranks 36th 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 South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 26.6 % | — |
| 2001 | 26.4 % | -0.8% |
| 2002 | 26.3 % | -0.4% |
| 2003 | 26.3 % | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 26.3 % | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 26.2 % | -0.4% |
| 2006 | 25.8 % | -1.5% |
| 2007 | 25.2 % | -2.3% |
| 2008 | 24.5 % | -2.8% |
| 2009 | 23.8 % | -2.9% |
| 2010 | 23.1 % | -2.9% |
| 2011 | 22.5 % | -2.6% |
| 2012 | 22.3 % | -0.9% |
| 2013 | 22.2 % | -0.4% |
| 2014 | 22.2 % | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 22.2 % | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 22.2 % | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 22.2 % | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 22.1 % | -0.5% |
| 2019 | 22.2 % | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 22.5 % | +1.4% |
| 2021 | 22.9 % | +1.8% |
| 2022 | 23.5 % | +2.6% |
| 2023 | 23.9 % | +1.7% |
| 2024 | 24.4 % | +2.1% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 24.4 % is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 8.4 %, 2.9× the median. (49 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 24.4 % is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 24.8 %, 98% of the median. (44 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 25.74 % | 23.8 % | 26.6 % | 10 |
| 2010s | 22.32 % | 22.1 % | 23.1 % | 10 |
| 2020s | 23.44 % | 22.5 % | 24.4 % | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More agriculture & rural data for South Africa
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 7.11 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0283 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 186.56 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.812 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.3618 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 2.8% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 2.8% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.0% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.0% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is percentage of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modelled) in South Africa?
- Percentage of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modelled) in South Africa was 24.4 % 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 South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 26.6 % in 2000.
- What is the lowest percentage of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modelled) recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 22.1 % in 2018.
- How does South Africa rank for percentage of children under 5 years of age who are stunted (modelled)?
- South Africa ranks 36th 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 South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa 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
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.