Skip to content
Hunger · India

Child malnutrition in Assam

35%of children under five stunted (NFHS-5, 2019-21)Very high

Assam ranks 9th of 36 states and union territories for child stunting, highest first; India's figure is 36%. In towns it is 30%, in villages 36%.

22%children under 5 wasted
33%children under 5 underweight
68%children 6-59 months anaemic
8.0%children 6-23 months with an adequate diet

Assam in NFHS-5, town and village

MeasureAssamUrbanRuralNFHS-4India
Children under 5 stunted (too short for age)35.3%29.8%36%36.4%35.5%
Children under 5 wasted (too thin for height)21.7%19.1%22.1%17%19.3%
Children under 5 severely wasted9.1%8%9.2%6.2%7.7%
Children under 5 underweight32.8%25.9%33.6%29.8%32.1%
Children under 5 overweight4.9%8%4.5%2.3%3.4%
Children 6-59 months anaemic68.4%66.4%68.6%35.7%67.1%
Women 15-49 anaemic65.9%65.2%66%46%57%
Women 15-49 underweight (BMI under 18.5)17.6%13.9%18.3%25.7%18.7%
Children 6-23 months with an adequate diet8%7.9%8%8.9%11.3%
Babies under 6 months only breastfed63.6%67.3%63%63.5%63.7%

Child stunting by district in Assam

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

  1. 1Dhubri49%
  2. 2Bongaigaon46%
  3. 3Morigaon43%
  4. 4Hailakandi43%
  5. 5Biswanath43%
  6. 6Chirang43%
  7. 7Darrang42%
  8. 8Baksa41%
  9. 9West Karbi Anglong41%
  10. 10Hojai39%
  11. 11Charaideo39%
  12. 12Goalpara39%
  13. 13Nagaon39%
  14. 14South Salmara Mancachar39%
  15. 15Jorhat39%
  16. 16Lakhimpur39%
  17. 17Dhemaji37%
  18. 18Sonitpur37%
  19. 19Majuli35%
  20. 20Kokrajhar35%
  21. 21Udalguri34%
  22. 22Tinsukia33%
  23. 23Karbi Anglong32%
  24. 24Dima Hasao31%
  25. 25Barpeta30%
  26. 26Karimganj29%
  27. 27Cachar29%
  28. 28Nalbari28%
  29. 29Dibrugarh27%
  30. 30Golaghat26%
  31. 31Sivasagar26%
  32. 32Kamrup Metropolitan25%
  33. 33Kamrup23%

Frequently asked questions

What is the malnutrition rate in Assam?

In NFHS-5 (2019-21), 35% of children under five in Assam were stunted, 22% wasted and 33% underweight, against 36%, 19% and 32% for India.

Is malnutrition falling in Assam?

Stunting fell from 36% in NFHS-4 (2015-16) to 35% in NFHS-5 (2019-21), 1.1 points.

Which district of Assam has the most malnutrition?

Dhubri had the highest share of stunted children in NFHS-5, 49%, and Kamrup the lowest, 23%.

How many children are anaemic in Assam?

68% of children aged 6 to 59 months in Assam were anaemic in NFHS-5, which WHO counts as a severe public health problem. So were 66% 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