Wasting in children — all countries

Wasting in children — Uganda

Wasting in children in Uganda in 2022 — 3.2%. Ranked 9 in the world out of 31. Since 1988, the indicator has risen by 0.1 pp.

2022 3.2% −0.4 pp vs 2020
World rank 9of 31
Period maximum 6.2%2006
Period minimum 2.8%2018

Trend over time

1988–2022 · % of children under 5

Wasting in children — Uganda, 1988–202223456719881992199620002004200820122016202020221988: 3.1%1995: 6%2000: 5%2006: 6.2%2009: 4.4%2011: 4.6%2012: 4.2%2014: 3.8%2015: 5.7%2016: 3.5%2018: 2.8%2020: 3.6%2022: 3.2%
Change over the period: +0.1 pp Annual average: 0 pp

Comparison, 2022

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

Uganda 3.2%
World 6.7%
Wasting in children — Uganda, by year Uganda All countries CSV XLSX
Year % Change, pp
2022 3.2
2020 3.6
2018 2.8
2016 3.5 −2.2 pp
2015 5.7 +1.9 pp
2014 3.8
2012 4.2 −0.4 pp
2011 4.6
2009 4.4
2006 6.2
2000 5
1995 6
1988 3.1

Eastern 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.