Stunting Prevalence Calculator

Work out stunting prevalence instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Stunting Prevalence Calculator

Divides children with height-for-age below minus two standard deviations by those surveyed, then applies the WHO prevalence thresholds.

Formula

Stunting prevalence

Prevalence (%) = children with height-for-age z-score below -2 / children surveyed x 100. WHO bands: very low <2.5%, low 2.5-9.9%, medium 10-19.9%, high 20-29.9%, very high >=30%

Worked example

With the default values below, Stunting Prevalence Calculator returns Stunting prevalence of 24.000%. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Children with height-for-age below -2 SDaccepts 0–1,000,000: 240
Children surveyedaccepts 1–10,000,000: 1,000

Results

Stunting prevalence: 24.000%
WHO public health significance: High
Children not stunted: 760
Stunted children per 1,000 surveyed: 240.0

Step by step

1Values used
2Stunting prevalence
3Stunting prevalence= 24.000
4WHO public health significance= High
5Children not stunted= 760
6Stunted children per 1,000 surveyed= 240.0

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 2 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 3 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does stunting indicate?

Chronic undernutrition and repeated infection over a long period, largely established in the first 1,000 days.

Is stunting reversible?

Linear growth deficits accrued before age two are largely irreversible, which is why prevention is emphasised.