Lesotho vs Zambia: Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight

Lesotho
12.5%
in 2024
Zambia
11.8%
in 2018
Lesotho rank
37th
Zambia rank
40th

Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight over time

  • Lesotho
  • Zambia
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How they compare

Lesotho currently reports 12.5% against 11.8% in Zambia, a difference of 0.7%.

That makes Lesotho's figure about 1.1 times Zambia's.

Lesotho ranks 37th and Zambia ranks 40th of 96 countries.

Zambia has averaged higher in every one of the 2 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade Lesotho Zambia Difference Ahead
1990s 13.8% 21.2% 7.4% Zambia
2010s 10.5% 11.8% 1.3% Zambia

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher malnutrition: share of children who are underweight, Lesotho or Zambia?
Lesotho, at 12.5% against 11.8% in Zambia as of 2024.
What is the difference in malnutrition: share of children who are underweight between Lesotho and Zambia?
0.7%, with Lesotho ahead.
How do Lesotho and Zambia rank globally for malnutrition: share of children who are underweight?
Lesotho ranks 37th and Zambia ranks 40th of 96 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME) - UNICEF, WHO, and World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator
Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight
Unit
% of children under 5
Source
Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME) - UNICEF, WHO, and World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
96 places, 957 data points, 1984–2024
Last refreshed

The share of children younger than five years old whose weight for age is more than two standard deviations below the median for the international reference population for ages 0-59 months.