Share of children who have anemia in Australia

Australia: Share of children who have anemia was 13.3% in 2019. ▲ Rising

Latest (2019)
13.3%
Change on year
up 3.9%
World rank
182nd
of 190 countries
All-time high
13.3%
in 2019
All-time low
11.5%
in 2012
Years of data
20
2000–2019

Share of children who have anemia in Australia, 2000–2019

0510152000200920192000: 11.8 % of children under 52001: 11.7 % of children under 52002: 11.6 % of children under 52003: 11.6 % of children under 52004: 11.6 % of children under 52005: 11.6 % of children under 52006: 11.6 % of children under 52007: 11.7 % of children under 52008: 11.6 % of children under 52009: 11.6 % of children under 52010: 11.6 % of children under 52011: 11.6 % of children under 52012: 11.5 % of children under 52013: 11.5 % of children under 52014: 11.6 % of children under 52015: 11.8 % of children under 52016: 12.1 % of children under 52017: 12.4 % of children under 52018: 12.8 % of children under 52019: 13.3 % of children under 5

Source: Global Health Observatory / World Health Statistics - World Health Organization (WHO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of children under 5.

Analysis

Australia recorded 13.3% for share of children who have anemia in 2019. That is the highest value across all 20 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.9% on the previous year and up 14.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of children who have anemia in Australia peaked at 13.3% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 11.5%, in 2012.

Australia ranks 182nd of 190 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 20 years of available data.

Share of children who have anemia in Australia, year by year

Annual values for Share of children who have anemia in Australia, 2000 to 2019.
Year % of children under 5 Change
2000 11.8% —
2001 11.7% -0.8%
2002 11.6% -0.9%
2003 11.6% +0.0%
2004 11.6% +0.0%
2005 11.6% +0.0%
2006 11.6% +0.0%
2007 11.7% +0.9%
2008 11.6% -0.9%
2009 11.6% +0.0%
2010 11.6% +0.0%
2011 11.6% +0.0%
2012 11.5% -0.9%
2013 11.5% +0.0%
2014 11.6% +0.9%
2015 11.8% +1.7%
2016 12.1% +2.5%
2017 12.4% +2.5%
2018 12.8% +3.2%
2019 13.3% +3.9%

Australia compared with similar countries

  • Australia's 13.3% is below the median for high income countries, which is 17.3%, 77% of the median. (62 countries reporting)
  • Australia's 13.3% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 33.8%, 39% of the median. (30 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 11.6% 11.6% 11.8% 10
2010s 12.0% 11.5% 13.3% 10

Countries ranked near Australia

  1. 179 Norway 13.5% compare
  2. 179 Philippines 13.5% compare
  3. 179 Singapore 13.5% compare
  4. 183 Canada 13.2% compare
  5. 184 San Marino 12.8% compare
  6. 185 Finland 11.8% compare

See the full ranking of 190 places →

More reference data data for Australia

All data for Australia →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of children who have anemia in Australia?
Share of children who have anemia in Australia was 13.3% in 2019, according to Global Health Observatory / World Health Statistics - World Health Organization (WHO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of children who have anemia recorded in Australia?
The highest recorded value was 13.3% in 2019.
What is the lowest share of children who have anemia recorded in Australia?
The lowest recorded value was 11.5% in 2012.
How does Australia rank for share of children who have anemia?
Australia ranks 182nd out of 190 countries with data for 2019.
Is share of children who have anemia rising or falling in Australia?
Over the last ten years it is up 14.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Australia data come from?
The figures come from Global Health Observatory / World Health Statistics - World Health Organization (WHO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children who have anemia. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 20 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Share of children who have anemia in Australia. Statizoid, drawing on Global Health Observatory / World Health Statistics - World Health Organization (WHO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 29 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/prevalence-of-anemia-in-children/australia/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/prevalence-of-anemia-in-children/australia/">Share of children who have anemia in Australia</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Share of children who have anemia
Unit
% of children under 5
Source
Global Health Observatory / World Health Statistics - World Health Organization (WHO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
190 places, 3,800 data points, 2000–2019
Last refreshed

Share of children under the age of five with anemia. Anemia is a condition that develops when your blood lacks enough healthy red blood cells or hemoglobin.