Chapter 2 Sustainable Development Target 2.2: Malnutrition

Key messages
  • In 2022, the prevalence of stunting in the Arab region was lower (19.9 percent) than the world average (22.3 percent), although the prevalence in Arab States LDCs was 31.2 percent. There has been a substantial improvement in the region in stunting, as it decreased from 28.0 percent in 2000 to 19.9 percent in 2022.
  • The prevalence of wasting was higher in the Arab region (7.1 percent) than the world average (6.8 percent) in 2022. Low-income countries in the Arab region had the highest prevalence in 2022 (14.6 percent) compared to the other country income groups.
  • In 2022, the prevalence of overweight among children under 5 years of age in the Arab region was 9.5 percent, almost the double of the world average (5.6 percent). In addition, overweight among children has increased by 8.0 percent since the beginning of this millennium.
  • Out of the presented country income groups, lower-middle-income countries have the highest prevalence of overweight among children under 5 years of age (14.2 percent) in the Arab region. The three countries with the highest prevalence of overweight among children under 5 years of age in 2022 were Libya (28.7 percent), Tunisia (19 percent) and Egypt (18.8 percent).
  • The prevalence of anaemia among women aged 15 to 49 years in 2019 was 33.2 percent in the Arab region, which was higher than the global average (29.9 percent). Anaemia among women was more pronounced in low-income countries (43.9 percent) compared to high-income countries in the Arab region (27.1 percent).