Peru: Prevalence of stunting, height for age (% of children under 5)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2023, Peru's prevalence of stunting, height for age (% of children under 5) fell 0.2 percentage points on 2022 (from 11.7% to 11.5%).

Across the 18 yearly changes before that (1997 to 2022), the average change was −0.36 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.16 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 7.3 percentage points in 1997 and the biggest yearly fall was 4.9 percentage points in 1998. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2014 to 2023 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.38 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 80% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

Closest to Peru in the 2023 ranking

• Viet Nam — 2nd of 8: 18.2%
• Senegal — 3rd of 8: 17.5%
• Tajikistan — 4th of 8: 13.7%
• Mongolia — 6th of 8: 8.8%
• Kuwait — 7th of 8: 3.2%
• Finland — 8th of 8: 2.8%

What this measures

Prevalence of stunting is the percentage of children under age 5 whose height for age is more than two standard deviations below the median for the international reference population ages 0-59 months. For children up to two years old height is measured by recumbent length. For older children height is measured by stature while standing. The data are based on the WHO's 2006 Child Growth Standards.

Limitations: Survey estimates come with levels of uncertainty due to both sampling error and non-sampling error (e.g., measurement technical error, recording error etc.,). None of the two sources of errors have been fully taken into account for deriving estimates neither at country nor at regional or worldwide levels.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a see sh.sta.stnt.me.zs for aggregation.

All 24 values

Prevalence of stunting, height for age (% of children under 5) in nearby economies

• Jamaica — 4.6% (2018)
• Mexico — 12.5% (2022)
• Uruguay — 6.9% (2018)

More health data for Peru

• Population ages 00-04, female (% of female population) — 7.56% (2025)
• Population ages 00-04, male (% of male population) — 7.93% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female — 4.01 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) — 23.06% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male — 4.16 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) — 24.17% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, total — 8.16 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) — 23.61% (2025)
• Population ages 05-09, female (% of female population) — 7.64% (2025)
• Population ages 05-09, male (% of male population)

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Questions people ask

What is Peru's prevalence of stunting, height for age (% of children under 5)?

11.5% in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1991?

It is down 25.8 percentage points from 37.3% in 1991. The highest value was 38.9% in 1997 and the lowest 11.4% in 2020.

Is the latest change in prevalence of stunting, height for age (% of children under 5) unusual for Peru?

In 2023, Peru's prevalence of stunting, height for age (% of children under 5) fell 0.2 percentage points on 2022 (from 11.7% to 11.5%). Across the 18 yearly changes before that (1997 to 2022), the average change was −0.36 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.16 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SH.STA.STNT.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: UNICEF, WHO, World Bank: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME). Aggregation is based on UNICEF, WHO, and the World Bank harmonized dataset (adjusted, comparable data) and methodology., UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), note: Aggregation is based on UNICEF, WHO, and the World Bank harmonized dataset (a… Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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