Hunger · Sub-Saharan Africa

Hunger and malnutrition in Burundi

53%of children under five stunted (2024)Very high

53% of young children are too short for their age, a sign of long-term undernutrition, and 7.8% are dangerously thin. Stunting ranges from 24% in Bujumbura Mairie to 66% in Muyinga.

71%moderately or severely food insecure (2024)

53%children under 5 stunted (2024)

7.8%children under 5 wasted (2024)

28%children under 5 underweight (2024)

1.5%children under 5 overweight (2020)

58%children 6-59 months anaemic (2019, WHO)

47 per 1,000children who die before age five (2024)

Child stunting by region in Burundi

Children under five too short for their age, the 2016 Demographic and Health Survey (2016). Survey figures can differ from the UN estimate above, which is modelled across surveys.

How Burundi compares

Burundi has the 1st highest child stunting of 129 countries with an estimate since 2015. In Sub-Saharan Africa it is 1st of 47.

Frequently asked questions

What percentage of children are stunted in Burundi?

53% of children under five in Burundi were stunted in 2024, which WHO rates very high. 7.8% were wasted (2024). That ranks Burundi 1 of 129 countries with an estimate since 2015, highest first.

Which region of Burundi has the most malnutrition?

In the 2016 Demographic and Health Survey, Muyinga had the highest share of stunted children, 66%, and Bujumbura Mairie the lowest, 24%.

Sources: FAO (undernourishment, food insecurity), UNICEF/WHO/World Bank Joint Malnutrition Estimates (stunting, wasting, underweight, overweight), WHO (anaemia) and UN IGME (child deaths), as published by the World Bank; regions from the DHS Program (BU2016DHS).