Wasting in children — all countries

Wasting in children — Tonga

Wasting in children in Tonga in 2019 — 1.1%. Ranked 4 in the world out of 46. Since 1986, the indicator has fallen by 0.2 pp.

2019 1.1% −4.1 pp vs 2012
World rank 4of 46
Period maximum 5.2%2012
Period minimum 1.1%2019

Trend over time

1986–2019 · % of children under 5

Wasting in children — Tonga, 1986–201902461986199019941998200220062010201420181986: 1.3%2012: 5.2%2019: 1.1%
Change over the period: −0.2 pp Annual average: -0.01 pp

Comparison, 2019

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

Tonga 1.1%
World 6.8%
Wasting in children — Tonga, by year Tonga All countries CSV XLSX
Year % Change, pp
2019 1.1
2012 5.2
1986 1.3

Polynesia, 2019

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.