Wasting in children — all countries

Wasting in children — Eritrea

Wasting in children in Eritrea in 2010 — 14.6%. Ranked 38 in the world out of 42. Since 1993, the indicator has risen by 2.8 pp.

2010 14.6% −0.4 pp vs 2002
World rank 38of 42
Period maximum 18.1%1995
Period minimum 11.8%1993

Trend over time

1993–2010 · % of children under 5

Wasting in children — Eritrea, 1993–201010121416182019931995199719992001200320052007200920101993: 11.8%1995: 18.1%2002: 15%2010: 14.6%
Change over the period: +2.8 pp Annual average: 0.16 pp

Comparison, 2010

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

Eritrea 14.6%
World 7.7%
Low-income countries computed 10.5%
Wasting in children — Eritrea, by year Eritrea All countries CSV XLSX
Year % Change, pp
2010 14.6
2002 15
1995 18.1
1993 11.8

Eastern Africa, 2010

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.