Number of children who are underweight by country
Countries reporting
96
Highest
37.35 million
India
Lowest
4,080
Uruguay
Median
160,020
Years covered
40
1984–2023
Data points
951
What the numbers show
Number of children who are underweight is currently reported for 96 countries. The highest value is 37.35 million in India; the lowest is 4,080 in Uruguay.
The median across all reporting countries is 160,020, and the mean is 1.01 million.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 9,155.
Over the past decade 24 countries rose and 72 fell. The largest increase was in Costa Rica (up 208.2%), and the largest decrease in South Korea (down 61.6%).
Number of children who are underweight: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India | 37.35 million | 2020 | down 35.7% | falling |
| 2 | Nigeria | 8.11 million | 2021 | up 9.9% | rising |
| 3 | Pakistan | 7.11 million | 2018 | down 23.4% | rising |
| 4 | Democratic Republic of Congo | 4.82 million | 2023 | up 46.4% | rising |
| 5 | Ethiopia | 3.65 million | 2019 | down 19.1% | falling |
| 6 | Indonesia | 3.55 million | 2023 | down 27.2% | falling |
| 7 | Bangladesh | 3.54 million | 2022 | down 33.4% | falling |
| 8 | Yemen | 2.50 million | 2022 | up 58.5% | rising |
| 9 | China | 2.15 million | 2013 | down 61.6% | volatile |
| 10 | Philippines | 1.78 million | 2021 | down 28.0% | falling |
| 11 | Niger | 1.58 million | 2022 | up 36.4% | rising |
| 12 | Afghanistan | 1.21 million | 2022 | down 12.1% | falling |
| 13 | Tanzania | 1.21 million | 2022 | up 7.6% | falling |
| 14 | Madagascar | 998,956 | 2021 | down 5.6% | rising |
| 15 | Myanmar | 880,483 | 2018 | down 14.4% | falling |
| 16 | Mozambique | 854,254 | 2022 | up 29.0% | rising |
| 17 | Uganda | 755,281 | 2022 | down 1.0% | falling |
| 18 | Mali | 754,670 | 2022 | up 18.1% | rising |
| 19 | Vietnam | 696,300 | 2023 | down 40.4% | volatile |
| 20 | Kenya | 684,232 | 2022 | down 21.7% | falling |
| 21 | Chad | 624,560 | 2022 | down 17.3% | rising |
| 22 | Cote d'Ivoire | 618,683 | 2021 | up 2.4% | rising |
| 23 | Burundi | 606,825 | 2023 | up 10.0% | rising |
| 24 | Burkina Faso | 571,923 | 2021 | down 25.2% | falling |
| 25 | Nepal | 513,536 | 2022 | down 41.2% | falling |
| 26 | Ghana | 504,537 | 2022 | down 1.3% | falling |
| 27 | Egypt | 455,087 | 2021 | down 36.7% | falling |
| 28 | Cameroon | 444,875 | 2018 | down 10.8% | rising |
| 29 | Mexico | 435,770 | 2022 | up 37.4% | falling |
| 30 | Benin | 418,628 | 2021 | up 52.9% | rising |
| 31 | Senegal | 397,165 | 2023 | up 19.0% | rising |
| 32 | Malawi | 376,644 | 2020 | down 0.2% | falling |
| 33 | Malaysia | 361,070 | 2022 | up 11.2% | falling |
| 34 | Zambia | 344,536 | 2018 | down 0.4% | rising |
| 35 | Iran | 326,019 | 2017 | up 31.5% | volatile |
| 36 | Guinea | 324,955 | 2022 | down 6.0% | rising |
| 37 | Syria | 314,829 | 2010 | up 112.9% | rising |
| 38 | Cambodia | 297,417 | 2021 | down 39.6% | falling |
| 39 | Guatemala | 280,908 | 2021 | up 3.2% | falling |
| 40 | Sri Lanka | 279,595 | 2023 | down 40.9% | falling |
| 41 | South Africa | 277,540 | 2017 | down 42.9% | falling |
| 42 | Iraq | 220,926 | 2018 | down 30.0% | falling |
| 43 | Zimbabwe | 218,857 | 2019 | down 11.1% | rising |
| 44 | Thailand | 213,571 | 2022 | down 43.8% | volatile |
| 45 | Laos | 193,353 | 2023 | down 6.4% | falling |
| 46 | Mauritania | 175,900 | 2022 | up 36.4% | rising |
| 47 | Central African Republic | 171,954 | 2022 | down 16.0% | rising |
| 48 | Togo | 164,055 | 2017 | down 21.2% | rising |
| 49 | North Korea | 155,986 | 2017 | down 50.2% | volatile |
| 50 | Rwanda | 141,064 | 2020 | down 27.4% | falling |
| 51 | Sierra Leone | 137,024 | 2021 | down 27.5% | falling |
| 52 | Algeria | 136,048 | 2019 | up 26.4% | falling |
| 53 | Haiti | 132,204 | 2023 | down 18.5% | falling |
| 54 | Colombia | 129,652 | 2016 | down 37.9% | falling |
| 55 | Turkey | 103,875 | 2018 | down 12.8% | volatile |
| 56 | Morocco | 98,203 | 2019 | up 0.8% | volatile |
| 57 | Saudi Arabia | 96,525 | 2020 | down 39.5% | falling |
| 58 | Venezuela | 84,650 | 2009 | down 27.1% | falling |
| 59 | Liberia | 81,375 | 2019 | down 23.8% | falling |
| 60 | United States | 79,570 | 2018 | down 44.7% | falling |
| 61 | Honduras | 78,462 | 2019 | down 16.6% | falling |
| 62 | Peru | 72,680 | 2023 | down 28.5% | falling |
| 63 | Uzbekistan | 71,157 | 2021 | down 36.6% | volatile |
| 64 | Tajikistan | 69,346 | 2023 | down 54.1% | falling |
| 65 | Ecuador | 60,361 | 2023 | down 41.8% | falling |
| 66 | Guinea-Bissau | 54,553 | 2019 | up 32.9% | rising |
| 67 | East Timor | 52,732 | 2020 | down 26.4% | falling |
| 68 | Oman | 46,675 | 2017 | up 93.9% | falling |
| 69 | Gambia | 43,582 | 2020 | down 24.3% | flat |
| 70 | Bolivia | 42,271 | 2016 | down 22.1% | falling |
| 71 | Kazakhstan | 38,968 | 2015 | down 42.9% | falling |
| 72 | Romania | 38,900 | 2002 | down 53.8% | falling |
| 73 | Nicaragua | 31,064 | 2012 | down 40.3% | falling |
| 74 | Dominican Republic | 30,846 | 2019 | down 9.6% | falling |
| 75 | Lesotho | 29,792 | 2018 | down 13.5% | falling |
| 76 | Jordan | 29,082 | 2023 | down 1.3% | flat |
| 77 | El Salvador | 25,300 | 2021 | down 36.3% | falling |
| 78 | United Kingdom | 23,296 | 2019 | up 0.8% | rising |
| 79 | Kyrgyzstan | 22,841 | 2023 | down 13.4% | volatile |
| 80 | Djibouti | 20,268 | 2023 | down 32.6% | rising |
| 81 | Azerbaijan | 20,244 | 2023 | down 50.9% | falling |
| 82 | Tunisia | 17,109 | 2018 | down 37.9% | volatile |
| 83 | Palestine | 15,231 | 2020 | down 34.0% | rising |
| 84 | Comoros | 10,321 | 2022 | down 40.4% | falling |
| 85 | Costa Rica | 9,994 | 2018 | up 208.2% | falling |
| 86 | Guyana | 7,814 | 2019 | down 8.8% | falling |
| 87 | Kuwait | 7,450 | 2023 | down 30.8% | rising |
| 88 | Eswatini | 7,124 | 2021 | down 20.7% | falling |
| 89 | South Korea | 6,994 | 2020 | down 61.6% | falling |
| 90 | Mongolia | 6,707 | 2023 | up 23.8% | volatile |
| 91 | Chile | 6,048 | 2014 | down 17.1% | volatile |
| 92 | Armenia | 5,522 | 2016 | down 27.3% | rising |
| 93 | Maldives | 5,357 | 2017 | down 1.2% | falling |
| 94 | Jamaica | 4,472 | 2018 | down 20.9% | falling |
| 95 | Bhutan | 4,205 | 2023 | down 48.7% | volatile |
| 96 | Uruguay | 4,080 | 2018 | down 56.7% | falling |