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Hunger · India

Child malnutrition in Maharashtra

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

Maharashtra ranks 10th of 36 states and union territories for child stunting, highest first; India's figure is 36%. In towns it is 35%, in villages 36%.

26%children under 5 wasted
36%children under 5 underweight
69%children 6-59 months anaemic
9.0%children 6-23 months with an adequate diet

Maharashtra in NFHS-5, town and village

MeasureMaharashtraUrbanRuralNFHS-4India
Children under 5 stunted (too short for age)35.2%34.9%35.5%34.4%35.5%
Children under 5 wasted (too thin for height)25.6%23%27.3%25.6%19.3%
Children under 5 severely wasted10.9%9.5%11.9%9.4%7.7%
Children under 5 underweight36.1%33.3%38%36%32.1%
Children under 5 overweight4.1%5.2%3.4%1.9%3.4%
Children 6-59 months anaemic68.9%66.3%70.7%53.8%67.1%
Women 15-49 anaemic54.2%52%56.1%48%57%
Women 15-49 underweight (BMI under 18.5)20.8%15.8%25%23.5%18.7%
Children 6-23 months with an adequate diet9%9.2%9%6.5%11.3%
Babies under 6 months only breastfed71%66.9%74.1%56.6%63.7%

Child stunting by district in Maharashtra

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

  1. 1Nandurbar46%
  2. 2Buldana45%
  3. 3Latur43%
  4. 4Nashik42%
  5. 5Bid41%
  6. 6Thane41%
  7. 7Jalna38%
  8. 8Dhule38%
  9. 9Parbhani38%
  10. 10Hingoli37%
  11. 11Chandrapur37%
  12. 12Mumbai Suburban37%
  13. 13Osmanabad37%
  14. 14Gondiya37%
  15. 15Yavatmal37%
  16. 16Jalgaon36%
  17. 17Solapur36%
  18. 18Nanded36%
  19. 19Raigarh36%
  20. 20Gadchiroli36%
  21. 21Washim35%
  22. 22Sangli35%
  23. 23Aurangabad34%
  24. 24Kolhapur34%
  25. 25Palghar33%
  26. 26Akola32%
  27. 27Ahmednagar32%
  28. 28Ratnagiri32%
  29. 29Bhandara31%
  30. 30Sindhudurg31%
  31. 31Pune31%
  32. 32Amravati29%
  33. 33Wardha28%
  34. 34Nagpur28%
  35. 35Mumbai27%
  36. 36Satara20%

Frequently asked questions

What is the malnutrition rate in Maharashtra?

In NFHS-5 (2019-21), 35% of children under five in Maharashtra were stunted, 26% wasted and 36% underweight, against 36%, 19% and 32% for India.

Is malnutrition falling in Maharashtra?

Stunting rose from 34% in NFHS-4 (2015-16) to 35% in NFHS-5 (2019-21), 0.8 points.

Which district of Maharashtra has the most malnutrition?

Nandurbar had the highest share of stunted children in NFHS-5, 46%, and Satara the lowest, 20%.

How many children are anaemic in Maharashtra?

69% of children aged 6 to 59 months in Maharashtra were anaemic in NFHS-5, which WHO counts as a severe public health problem. So were 54% 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