Number of children who are underweight in United Kingdom

United Kingdom: Number of children who are underweight was 23,296 in 2019. ▲ Rising

Latest (2019)
23,296
Change on year
down 1.6%
World rank
78th
of 96 countries
All-time high
25,647
in 2007
All-time low
3,986
in 2011
Years of data
13
2007–2019

Number of children who are underweight in United Kingdom, 2007–2019

5.0k10.0k15.0k20.0k25.0k2007201320192007: 25.6k2008: 22.6k2009: 23.1k2010: 23.5k2011: 4.0k2012: 24.2k2013: 24.4k2014: 24.4k2015: 24.4k2016: 24.3k2017: 20.0k2018: 23.7k2019: 23.3k

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

United Kingdom recorded 23,296 for number of children who are underweight in 2019.

The figure is down 1.6% on the previous year and up 0.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of children who are underweight in United Kingdom peaked at 25,647 in 2007 and was at its lowest, 3,986, in 2011.

That places United Kingdom 78th out of 96 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 23,782 22,589 25,647 3
2010s 21,619 3,986 24,421 10

Countries ranked near United Kingdom

  1. 75 Lesotho 29,792 compare
  2. 76 Jordan 29,082 compare
  3. 77 El Salvador 25,300 compare
  4. 79 Kyrgyzstan 22,841 compare
  5. 80 Djibouti 20,268 compare
  6. 81 Azerbaijan 20,244 compare

See the full ranking of 96 places →

More reference data data for United Kingdom

All data for United Kingdom →

Frequently asked questions

What is number of children who are underweight in United Kingdom?
Number of children who are underweight in United Kingdom was 23,296 in 2019, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest number of children who are underweight recorded in United Kingdom?
The highest recorded value was 25,647 in 2007.
What is the lowest number of children who are underweight recorded in United Kingdom?
The lowest recorded value was 3,986 in 2011.
How does United Kingdom rank for number of children who are underweight?
United Kingdom ranks 78th out of 96 countries with data for 2019.
Is number of children who are underweight rising or falling in United Kingdom?
Over the last ten years it is up 0.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this United Kingdom 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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Number of children who are underweight in United Kingdom. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 21 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/number-of-children-who-are-underweight/united-kingdom/

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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