Wasting in children — all countries

Wasting in children — Nicaragua

Wasting in children in Nicaragua in 2012 — 2.2%. Ranked 8 in the world out of 45. Since 1993, the indicator has fallen by 0.3 pp.

2012 2.2% +0.7 pp vs 2007
World rank 8of 45
Period maximum 3.4%1998
Period minimum 0.4%2004

Trend over time

1993–2012 · % of children under 5

Wasting in children — Nicaragua, 1993–201201234199319951997199920012003200520072009201120121993: 2.5%1998: 3.4%2001: 2.3%2004: 0.4%2005: 0.9%2007: 1.5%2012: 2.2%
Change over the period: −0.3 pp Annual average: -0.02 pp

Comparison, 2012

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

Nicaragua 2.2%
World 7.5%
Wasting in children — Nicaragua, by year Nicaragua All countries CSV XLSX
Year % Change, pp
2012 2.2
2007 1.5
2005 0.9 +0.5 pp
2004 0.4
2001 2.3
1998 3.4
1993 2.5

Central America, 2012

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.