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Hunger · India

Child malnutrition in Gujarat

39%of children under five stunted (NFHS-5, 2019-21)Very high

Gujarat ranks 6th of 36 states and union territories for child stunting, highest first; India's figure is 36%. In towns it is 32%, in villages 43%.

25%children under 5 wasted
40%children under 5 underweight
80%children 6-59 months anaemic
5.9%children 6-23 months with an adequate diet

Gujarat in NFHS-5, town and village

MeasureGujaratUrbanRuralNFHS-4India
Children under 5 stunted (too short for age)39%32.4%43%38.5%35.5%
Children under 5 wasted (too thin for height)25.1%22.4%26.7%26.4%19.3%
Children under 5 severely wasted10.6%9.7%11.1%9.5%7.7%
Children under 5 underweight39.7%33.3%43.5%39.3%32.1%
Children under 5 overweight3.9%4.6%3.5%1.9%3.4%
Children 6-59 months anaemic79.7%77.6%81.2%62.6%67.1%
Women 15-49 anaemic65%61.3%67.6%54.9%57%
Women 15-49 underweight (BMI under 18.5)25.2%17.2%30.9%27.2%18.7%
Children 6-23 months with an adequate diet5.9%6.6%5.5%5.2%11.3%
Babies under 6 months only breastfed65%70.3%62.4%55.8%63.7%

Child stunting by district in Gujarat

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

  1. 1Dahod55%
  2. 2Patan51%
  3. 3Chhota Udaipur49%
  4. 4Narmada47%
  5. 5Aravali47%
  6. 6Panchmahal47%
  7. 7Gir Somnath44%
  8. 8Mahisagar43%
  9. 9Vadodara42%
  10. 10Tapi42%
  11. 11Bharuch41%
  12. 12Surendranagar39%
  13. 13Banaskantha39%
  14. 14Rajkot39%
  15. 15Anand38%
  16. 16Gandhinagar38%
  17. 17Valsad38%
  18. 18The Dangs38%
  19. 19Kachchh38%
  20. 20Junagadh37%
  21. 21Kheda37%
  22. 22Sabarkantha37%
  23. 23Navsari37%
  24. 24Surat36%
  25. 25Ahmedabad36%
  26. 26Amreli35%
  27. 27Morbi33%
  28. 28Bhavnagar33%
  29. 29Botad32%
  30. 30Mahesana31%
  31. 31Devbhumi Dwarka30%
  32. 32Jamnagar28%
  33. 33Porbandar18%

Frequently asked questions

What is the malnutrition rate in Gujarat?

In NFHS-5 (2019-21), 39% of children under five in Gujarat were stunted, 25% wasted and 40% underweight, against 36%, 19% and 32% for India.

Is malnutrition falling in Gujarat?

Stunting rose from 39% in NFHS-4 (2015-16) to 39% in NFHS-5 (2019-21), 0.5 points.

Which district of Gujarat has the most malnutrition?

Dahod had the highest share of stunted children in NFHS-5, 55%, and Porbandar the lowest, 18%.

How many children are anaemic in Gujarat?

80% of children aged 6 to 59 months in Gujarat were anaemic in NFHS-5, which WHO counts as a severe public health problem. So were 65% 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