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Hunger · India

Child malnutrition in Andhra Pradesh

31%of children under five stunted (NFHS-5, 2019-21)Very high

Andhra Pradesh ranks 18th of 36 states and union territories for child stunting, highest first; India's figure is 36%. In towns it is 23%, in villages 34%.

16%children under 5 wasted
30%children under 5 underweight
63%children 6-59 months anaemic
9.3%children 6-23 months with an adequate diet

Andhra Pradesh in NFHS-5, town and village

MeasureAndhra PradeshUrbanRuralNFHS-4India
Children under 5 stunted (too short for age)31.2%23.1%34.2%31.4%35.5%
Children under 5 wasted (too thin for height)16.1%17.6%15.5%17.2%19.3%
Children under 5 severely wasted6%6.4%5.8%4.5%7.7%
Children under 5 underweight29.6%25.1%31.4%31.9%32.1%
Children under 5 overweight2.7%3%2.6%1.2%3.4%
Children 6-59 months anaemic63.2%58.7%65%58.6%67.1%
Women 15-49 anaemic58.8%57.8%59.3%60%57%
Women 15-49 underweight (BMI under 18.5)14.8%11.9%16.2%17.6%18.7%
Children 6-23 months with an adequate diet9.3%16.7%6.3%7.6%11.3%
Babies under 6 months only breastfed68%61.4%70.4%70.2%63.7%

Child stunting by district in Andhra Pradesh

Children under five too short for their age, NFHS-5 district factsheets (2019-21).

  1. 1Kurnool51%
  2. 2Vizianagaram36%
  3. 3Anantapur36%
  4. 4Y.S.R.34%
  5. 5West Godavari31%
  6. 6Visakhapatnam31%
  7. 7Krishna30%
  8. 8Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore29%
  9. 9Chittoor27%
  10. 10Guntur24%
  11. 11East Godavari23%
  12. 12Prakasam23%
  13. 13Srikakulam20%

Frequently asked questions

What is the malnutrition rate in Andhra Pradesh?

In NFHS-5 (2019-21), 31% of children under five in Andhra Pradesh were stunted, 16% wasted and 30% underweight, against 36%, 19% and 32% for India.

Is malnutrition falling in Andhra Pradesh?

Stunting fell from 31% in NFHS-4 (2015-16) to 31% in NFHS-5 (2019-21), 0.2 points.

Which district of Andhra Pradesh has the most malnutrition?

Kurnool had the highest share of stunted children in NFHS-5, 51%, and Srikakulam the lowest, 20%.

How many children are anaemic in Andhra Pradesh?

63% of children aged 6 to 59 months in Andhra Pradesh were anaemic in NFHS-5, which WHO counts as a severe public health problem. So were 59% of women aged 15 to 49.

Source: National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), 2019-21, IIPS and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; districts from NFHS-5 district factsheets, tabulated by pratapvardhan/NFHS-5 (CC BY 4.0).

Malnutrition in other states