Number of children who are underweight in India

India: Number of children who are underweight was 37.35 million in 2020. ▼ Falling

Latest (2020)
37.35 million
Change on year
down 9.3%
World rank
1st
of 96 countries
All-time high
68.32 million
in 1989
All-time low
37.06 million
in 2014
Years of data
10
1989–2020

Number of children who are underweight in India, 1989–2020

020.0M40.0M60.0M1989200420201989: 68.3M1991: 66.2M1992: 64.7M1997: 49.8M1999: 59.5M2006: 58.0M2014: 37.1M2015: 45.2M2017: 41.2M2020: 37.4M

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

The most recent figure for number of children who are underweight in India is 37.35 million, measured in 2020.

That represents a change of down 9.3% on the previous year and down 35.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of children who are underweight in India peaked at 68.32 million in 1989 and was at its lowest, 37.06 million, in 2014.

That places India 1st out of 96 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 10 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 68.32 million 68.32 million 68.32 million 1
1990s 60.05 million 49.81 million 66.16 million 4
2000s 58.05 million 58.05 million 58.05 million 1
2010s 41.14 million 37.06 million 45.18 million 3
2020s 37.35 million 37.35 million 37.35 million 1

Countries ranked near India

  1. 2 Nigeria 8.11 million compare
  2. 3 Pakistan 7.11 million compare
  3. 4 Democratic Republic of Congo 4.82 million compare

See the full ranking of 96 places →

More reference data data for India

All data for India →

Frequently asked questions

What is number of children who are underweight in India?
Number of children who are underweight in India was 37.35 million in 2020, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest number of children who are underweight recorded in India?
The highest recorded value was 68.32 million in 1989.
What is the lowest number of children who are underweight recorded in India?
The lowest recorded value was 37.06 million in 2014.
How does India rank for number of children who are underweight?
India ranks 1st out of 96 countries with data for 2020.
Is number of children who are underweight rising or falling in India?
Over the last ten years it is down 35.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this India data come from?
The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Number of children who are underweight. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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About this data

Indicator
Number of children who are underweight
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
96 places, 951 data points, 1984–2023
Last refreshed