Wasting in children — all countries

Wasting in children — Senegal

Wasting in children in Senegal in 2023 — 10.2%. Ranked 22 in the world out of 24. Since 1986, the indicator has risen by 4.7 pp.

2023 10.2% +2.1 pp vs 2019
World rank 22of 24
Period maximum 10.2%2023
Period minimum 5.5%1986

Trend over time

1986–2023 · % of children under 5

Wasting in children — Senegal, 1986–2023468101219861990199419982002200620102014201820221986: 5.5%1991: 9%1993: 9.4%1996: 8%2000: 10%2005: 8.7%2011: 9.8%2012: 8.7%2013: 9%2014: 8%2015: 8.9%2016: 7.1%2017: 9%2018: 7.8%2019: 8.1%2023: 10.2%
Change over the period: +4.7 pp Annual average: 0.13 pp

Comparison, 2023

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

Senegal 10.2%
World 6.6%
Wasting in children — Senegal, by year Senegal All countries CSV XLSX
Year % Change, pp
2023 10.2
2019 8.1 +0.3 pp
2018 7.8 −1.2 pp
2017 9 +1.9 pp
2016 7.1 −1.8 pp
2015 8.9 +0.9 pp
2014 8 −1 pp
2013 9 +0.3 pp
2012 8.7 −1.1 pp
2011 9.8
2005 8.7
2000 10
1996 8
1993 9.4
1991 9
1986 5.5

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.