Wasting in children — all countries

Wasting in children — Mauritania

Wasting in children in Mauritania in 2022 — 13.6%. Ranked 30 in the world out of 31. Since 1988, the indicator has fallen by 5.5 pp.

2022 13.6% +3.5 pp vs 2021
World rank 30of 31
Period maximum 19.1%1988
Period minimum 6.4%2020

Trend over time

1988–2022 · % of children under 5

Wasting in children — Mauritania, 1988–20220510152019881992199620002004200820122016202020221988: 19.1%1996: 8.7%2000: 15.3%2007: 13.6%2008: 8.1%2011: 13.9%2012: 11.7%2015: 14.8%2018: 11.5%2019: 11.1%2020: 6.4%2021: 10.1%2022: 13.6%
Change over the period: −5.5 pp Annual average: -0.16 pp

Comparison, 2022

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

Mauritania 13.6%
World 6.7%
Wasting in children — Mauritania, by year Mauritania All countries CSV XLSX
Year % Change, pp
2022 13.6 +3.5 pp
2021 10.1 +3.7 pp
2020 6.4 −4.7 pp
2019 11.1 −0.4 pp
2018 11.5
2015 14.8
2012 11.7 −2.2 pp
2011 13.9
2008 8.1 −5.5 pp
2007 13.6
2000 15.3
1996 8.7
1988 19.1

Western Africa, 2022

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.