Wasting in children — all countries

Wasting in children — Peru

Wasting in children in Peru in 2023 — 0.6%. Ranked 1 in the world out of 24. Since 1991, the indicator has fallen by 1.3 pp.

2023 0.6% +0.1 pp vs 2022
World rank 1of 24
Period maximum 1.9%1991
Period minimum 0.4%2011

Trend over time

1991–2023 · % of children under 5

Wasting in children — Peru, 1991–202300.511.521991199519992003200720112015201920231991: 1.9%1996: 1.6%1997: 0.9%1998: 0.9%1999: 1.1%2000: 1.1%2001: 1%2005: 1%2007: 0.8%2009: 0.6%2010: 0.7%2011: 0.4%2012: 0.6%2013: 0.4%2014: 0.6%2015: 0.6%2016: 0.6%2017: 0.5%2018: 0.5%2019: 1%2020: 0.4%2021: 0.4%2022: 0.5%2023: 0.6%
Change over the period: −1.3 pp Annual average: -0.04 pp

Comparison, 2023

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

Peru 0.6%
World 6.6%
Wasting in children — Peru, by year Peru All countries CSV XLSX
Year % Change, pp
2023 0.6 +0.1 pp
2022 0.5 +0.1 pp
2021 0.4 +0 pp
2020 0.4 −0.6 pp
2019 1 +0.5 pp
2018 0.5 +0 pp
2017 0.5 −0.1 pp
2016 0.6 +0 pp
2015 0.6 +0 pp
2014 0.6 +0.2 pp
2013 0.4 −0.2 pp
2012 0.6 +0.2 pp
2011 0.4 −0.3 pp
2010 0.7 +0.1 pp
2009 0.6
2007 0.8
2005 1
2001 1 −0.1 pp
2000 1.1 +0 pp
1999 1.1 +0.2 pp
1998 0.9 +0 pp
1997 0.9 −0.7 pp
1996 1.6
1991 1.9

South America, 2023

The same indicator for neighboring countries — with links to their pages

PE Peru 0.6 EC Ecuador 0.9

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.