Wasting in children — all countries

Wasting in children — Gambia

Wasting in children in the Gambia in 2020 — 5.1%. Ranked 16 in the world out of 26. Since 2000, the indicator has fallen by 4 pp.

2020 5.1% −1.1 pp vs 2018
World rank 16of 26
Period maximum 11%2013
Period minimum 5.1%2020

Trend over time

2000–2020 · % of children under 5

Wasting in children — Gambia, 2000–20204681012200020022004200620082010201220142016201820202000: 9.1%2006: 7.4%2010: 9.5%2012: 9.5%2013: 11%2018: 6.2%2020: 5.1%
Change over the period: −4 pp Annual average: -0.2 pp

Comparison, 2020

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

Gambia 5.1%
World 6.7%
Wasting in children — Gambia, by year Gambia All countries CSV XLSX
Year % Change, pp
2020 5.1
2018 6.2
2013 11 +1.5 pp
2012 9.5
2010 9.5
2006 7.4
2000 9.1

Western Africa, 2020

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.