Severe wasting in children — all countries

Severe wasting in children — Nigeria

Severe wasting in children in Nigeria in 2021 — 3.1%. Ranked 31 in the world out of 31. Since 1990, the indicator has fallen by 1.3 pp.

2021 3.1% +1.7 pp vs 2020
World rank 31of 31
Period maximum 4.7%2003
Period minimum 1.4%2020

Trend over time

1990–2021 · % of children under 5

Severe wasting in children — Nigeria, 1990–202102461990199419982002200620102014201820211990: 4.4%2003: 4.7%2011: 3.1%2014: 1.8%2015: 1.8%2016: 2.9%2018: 1.8%2020: 1.4%2021: 3.1%
Change over the period: −1.3 pp Annual average: -0.04 pp

Comparison, 2021

How the value compares with the world and the groups this territory belongs to: Nigeria

Nigeria 3.1%
World 1.92%
Severe wasting in children — Nigeria, by year Nigeria All countries CSV XLSX
Year % Change, pp
2021 3.1 +1.7 pp
2020 1.4
2018 1.8
2016 2.9 +1.1 pp
2015 1.8 +0 pp
2014 1.8
2011 3.1
2003 4.7
1990 4.4

Western Africa, 2021

The same indicator for neighboring countries — with links to their pages

About the indicator

The share of children under five whose weight falls short of the WHO norm for their height by more than three standard deviations. This is a subset of wasting, its extreme degree: without treatment mortality in this group runs into the tens of percent, which is why such cases are counted as a medical emergency and are treated with special therapeutic food. The indicator is the most sensitive of the child ones: it responds to a crisis earlier than the rest.

Important: Part of the wasting indicator rather than an addition to it: the two series cannot be added. The aggregate by group is weighted by the number of children aged 0–14.

Source: Global Health Observatory (WHO), license CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.