Stunting in children — all countries

Stunting in children — Mercosur

Stunting in children in Mercosur in 2016 — 12.3%.

2016 12.3%
World rank
Period maximum 12.3%2016
Period minimum 12.3%2016

Trend over time

2016–2016 · % of children under 5

Change over the period: +0 pp
Stunting in children — Mercosur, by year Mercosur All countries CSV XLSX
Year % Change, pp
2016 12.3

About the indicator

The share of children under five whose height falls short of the WHO norm for their age by more than two standard deviations. Stunting is the trace of a prolonged shortage of nutrition in the first years of life, and it is irreversible: height cannot be made up later. That is why the indicator is considered the main measure of chronic undernutrition, unlike wasting, which speaks of an acute shortage of food right now.

Important: The data come from sample household surveys and are not annual: for the intervening years there are no values. The aggregate by country group is weighted by the number of children aged 0–14 — it cannot be weighted by population, the share of small children is too different.

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