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Health and wellbeing ยท ranked by Stunting in children under 5

Countries with the highest share of stunted children under 5

50 ranked ยท updated 2026-11-02
Number oneBurundi52.8 %
Ranking by Stunting in children under 5
#NameStunting in children under 5Change
1
Burundi
52.8 %new
248.5 %new
347.7 %new
446.7 %new
546 %new
644.7 %new
744.6 %new
839.8 %new
937.9 %new
1036.8 %new
Show positions 11โ€“50
1136.7 %new
1235.6 %new
1335.5 %new
1435.5 %new
1534.1 %new
1633.8 %new
1733.1 %new
1832.8 %new
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2030 %new
2129.8 %new
2228.1 %new
2326.7 %new
2426.3 %new
2526.1 %new
2625.9 %new
2725.5 %new
2825.1 %new
2925.1 %new
3024.8 %new
3124.4 %new
3223.6 %new
3323.4 %new
3422 %new
3522 %new
3621.9 %new
3721.2 %new
3821.1 %new
3920 %new
4018.7 %new
4118.2 %new
4218.2 %new
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4915.9 %new
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History

How the top 10 has moved

Positions of today's top 10 across every published snapshot.

History appears once this ranking has at least two published snapshots.

About this ranking

Countries with the highest share of stunted children under 5, explained

Countries with the highest share of stunted children under 5 is a live ranking of the top 50 entries in health and wellbeing by Stunting in children under 5, built from public data published by Our World in Data. It was last refreshed on 2026-11-02. This is the first published snapshot; from the next refresh onwards the page will also show movers, new entries and a rank history chart.

Burundi currently holds #1 with 52.8 %. Yemen is second with 48.5 %, which puts the leader 9% ahead. Niger completes the top three with 47.7 %. Together the top three account for about 33% of the combined top-10 total, which gives a quick sense of how concentrated this ranking is.

How it is measured: The share of children under 5 whose height is too low for their age (stunting). Our World in Data chart "share-of-children-younger-than-5-who-suffer-from-stunting" (column stunting_prevalence_among_children_under_5_years_of_age__pct_height_for_age__lt__2_sd__survey_based_estimates__sex_both_sexes); most recent year per country within the last five years of data, regional aggregates excluded. Caveat: Years differ by country; the chart page documents the original source and its limitations. Data from Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0) and the sources it cites. The full top 50 is on this page, with positions 11 to 50 one click away, and each entry links to its own profile showing every ranking it appears in.

Use this page to check who is number one right now, compare any two entries head to head, or test yourself with the quiz, which asks you to name all ten in three minutes. Year-end archives are available for 2026, freezing the ranking as it stood at the close of each year. Top10Earth never estimates or edits a value: each number is fetched from its source, hashed, stored and ranked by software, then checked by a quality gate before it is published. If a refresh fails the gate, the previous snapshot stays live and the problem is reviewed by a person.

Frequently asked questions

Who is #1 in Countries with the highest share of stunted children under 5?
Burundi is #1 with 52.8 %, as of 2026-11-02. Yemen is #2.
How is Countries with the highest share of stunted children under 5 ranked?
By Stunting in children under 5. The share of children under 5 whose height is too low for their age (stunting). Our World in Data chart "share-of-children-younger-than-5-who-suffer-from-stunting" (column stunting_prevalence_among_children_under_5_years_of_age__pct_height_for_age__lt__2_sd__survey_based_estimates__sex_both_sexes); most recent year per country within the last five years of data, regional aggregates excluded.
How often is this ranking updated?
It refreshes on a fixed schedule from Our World in Data. The latest snapshot was captured on 2026-11-02.
Where does the data come from?
Our World in Data. Data from Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0) and the sources it cites. The raw payload for every refresh is stored unchanged so any number can be traced back.