Malnutrition: Number of children who are underweight in Kuwait
Kuwait: Malnutrition: Number of children who are underweight was 7,450 underweight children in 2023. ▲ Rising
Malnutrition: Number of children who are underweight in Kuwait, 1996–2023
Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME) - UNICEF, WHO, and World Bank (2026); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in underweight children.
Analysis
In 2023, malnutrition: number of children who are underweight in Kuwait stood at 7,450 underweight children.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 5.3% on the previous year and down 30.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, malnutrition: number of children who are underweight in Kuwait peaked at 11,081 underweight children in 2017 and was at its lowest, 3,131 underweight children, in 1996.
That places Kuwait 87th out of 96 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Malnutrition: Number of children who are underweight in Kuwait, year by year
| Year | underweight children | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 3,131 underweight children | — |
| 2001 | 4,496 underweight children | +43.6% |
| 2002 | 4,260 underweight children | -5.2% |
| 2003 | 4,606 underweight children | +8.1% |
| 2004 | 5,495 underweight children | +19.3% |
| 2005 | 5,157 underweight children | -6.2% |
| 2006 | 6,101 underweight children | +18.3% |
| 2007 | 6,527 underweight children | +7.0% |
| 2008 | 5,724 underweight children | -12.3% |
| 2009 | 4,246 underweight children | -25.8% |
| 2010 | 4,435 underweight children | +4.5% |
| 2011 | 5,724 underweight children | +29.1% |
| 2012 | 5,995 underweight children | +4.7% |
| 2013 | 10,769 underweight children | +79.6% |
| 2014 | 9,373 underweight children | -13.0% |
| 2015 | 10,109 underweight children | +7.9% |
| 2016 | 10,270 underweight children | +1.6% |
| 2017 | 11,081 underweight children | +7.9% |
| 2018 | 10,019 underweight children | -9.6% |
| 2019 | 5,892 underweight children | -41.2% |
| 2020 | 5,024 underweight children | -14.7% |
| 2021 | 6,520 underweight children | +29.8% |
| 2022 | 7,864 underweight children | +20.6% |
| 2023 | 7,450 underweight children | -5.3% |
Kuwait compared with similar countries
- Kuwait's 7,450 underweight children is below the median for high income countries, which is 9,994 underweight children, 75% of the median. (11 countries reporting)
- Kuwait's 7,450 underweight children is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 117,126 underweight children, 6% of the median. (16 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 3,131 underweight children | 3,131 underweight children | 3,131 underweight children | 1 |
| 2000s | 5,179 underweight children | 4,246 underweight children | 6,527 underweight children | 9 |
| 2010s | 8,367 underweight children | 4,435 underweight children | 11,081 underweight children | 10 |
| 2020s | 6,714 underweight children | 5,024 underweight children | 7,864 underweight children | 4 |
Countries ranked near Kuwait
More reference data data for Kuwait
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.092 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.2888 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.385 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.001 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.385 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.3086 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.1086 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.53 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.96 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0052 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is malnutrition: number of children who are underweight in Kuwait?
- Malnutrition: number of children who are underweight in Kuwait was 7,450 underweight children in 2023, according to Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME) - UNICEF, WHO, and World Bank (2026); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest malnutrition: number of children who are underweight recorded in Kuwait?
- The highest recorded value was 11,081 underweight children in 2017.
- What is the lowest malnutrition: number of children who are underweight recorded in Kuwait?
- The lowest recorded value was 3,131 underweight children in 1996.
- How does Kuwait rank for malnutrition: number of children who are underweight?
- Kuwait ranks 87th out of 96 countries with data for 2023.
- Is malnutrition: number of children who are underweight rising or falling in Kuwait?
- Over the last ten years it is down 30.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Kuwait data come from?
- The figures come from Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME) - UNICEF, WHO, and World Bank (2026); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Malnutrition: Number of children who are underweight. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Prevalence of underweight children is the percentage of children under age 5 whose weight for age is more than two standard deviations below the median for the international reference population ages 0-59 months. The data are based on the WHO's child growth standards released in 2006.