Wasting in children — all countries

Wasting in children — Colombia

Wasting in children in Colombia in 2016 — 1.6%. Ranked 10 in the world out of 36. Since 1986, the indicator has risen by 0.3 pp.

2016 1.6% +0.7 pp vs 2010
World rank 10of 36
Period maximum 3.8%1988
Period minimum 0.9%2010

Trend over time

1986–2016 · % of children under 5

Wasting in children — Colombia, 1986–201601234198619891992199519982001200420072010201320161986: 1.3%1988: 3.8%1995: 1.7%2000: 1%2005: 1.6%2010: 0.9%2016: 1.6%
Change over the period: +0.3 pp Annual average: 0.01 pp

Comparison, 2016

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

Colombia 1.6%
World 7%
Wasting in children — Colombia, by year Colombia All countries CSV XLSX
Year % Change, pp
2016 1.6
2010 0.9
2005 1.6
2000 1
1995 1.7
1988 3.8
1986 1.3

South America, 2016

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 two standard deviations. Unlike stunting, wasting speaks of an acute shortage of nutrition or of a recent illness, and it is reversible: with normal feeding a child regains the weight. That is exactly why wasting serves as an indicator of a current crisis — drought, war, breaks in supply — and not of long-standing poverty.

Important: The data come from sample surveys, so the years are intermittent. 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.