Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight by country
The share of children younger than five years old whose weight for age is more than two standard deviations below the median for the international reference population for ages 0-59 months.
Countries reporting
96
Highest
40.7%
Yemen
Lowest
0.4%
United States
Median
9.8%
Years covered
41
1984–2024
Data points
957
What the numbers show
Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight is currently reported for 96 countries. The highest value is 40.7% in Yemen; the lowest is 0.4% in United States.
The median across all reporting countries is 9.8%, and the mean is 11.1%.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 102.
Over the past decade 19 countries rose and 76 fell. The largest increase was in Costa Rica (up 222.2%), and the largest decrease in China (down 64.7%).
Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yemen | 40.7% | 2022 | up 14.6% | flat |
| 2 | Niger | 34.6% | 2022 | up 7.8% | falling |
| 3 | East Timor | 31.9% | 2020 | down 29.0% | falling |
| 4 | India | 31.5% | 2020 | down 27.6% | falling |
| 5 | Burundi | 28.3% | 2024 | up 1.4% | falling |
| 6 | Democratic Republic of Congo | 25.0% | 2023 | up 6.8% | falling |
| 7 | Nigeria | 24.4% | 2021 | up 0.8% | falling |
| 8 | Laos | 24.3% | 2023 | down 8.6% | falling |
| 9 | Pakistan | 23.1% | 2018 | down 26.4% | falling |
| 10 | Madagascar | 22.6% | 2021 | down 20.4% | falling |
| 11 | Mauritania | 22.4% | 2022 | up 9.8% | falling |
| 12 | Bangladesh | 21.7% | 2022 | down 34.2% | falling |
| 13 | Ethiopia | 21.2% | 2019 | down 27.4% | falling |
| 14 | Benin | 19.6% | 2021 | up 14.6% | falling |
| 15 | Myanmar | 19.5% | 2018 | down 13.7% | falling |
| 16 | Guinea-Bissau | 18.8% | 2019 | up 14.6% | falling |
| 17 | Afghanistan | 18.4% | 2022 | down 25.2% | falling |
| 17 | Central African Republic | 18.4% | 2022 | down 24.9% | falling |
| 19 | Nepal | 18.3% | 2022 | down 36.7% | falling |
| 20 | Chad | 18.2% | 2022 | down 39.9% | falling |
| 21 | Djibouti | 17.7% | 2023 | down 31.9% | falling |
| 22 | Sri Lanka | 17.1% | 2024 | down 34.5% | falling |
| 23 | Burkina Faso | 16.9% | 2021 | down 32.7% | falling |
| 24 | Philippines | 16.7% | 2021 | down 17.3% | falling |
| 25 | Cambodia | 16.3% | 2021 | down 43.6% | falling |
| 26 | Senegal | 16.2% | 2023 | up 9.5% | falling |
| 27 | Indonesia | 15.9% | 2023 | down 20.1% | falling |
| 28 | Mozambique | 15.4% | 2022 | down 1.3% | falling |
| 29 | Malaysia | 15.3% | 2022 | up 22.4% | falling |
| 30 | Togo | 15.2% | 2017 | down 25.9% | falling |
| 31 | Guinea | 15.0% | 2022 | down 20.2% | falling |
| 31 | Mali | 15.0% | 2024 | down 37.8% | falling |
| 33 | Maldives | 14.8% | 2017 | down 16.4% | falling |
| 34 | Guatemala | 14.4% | 2021 | up 2.1% | falling |
| 35 | Cote d'Ivoire | 13.6% | 2021 | down 12.3% | falling |
| 36 | Malawi | 12.8% | 2020 | down 7.9% | falling |
| 37 | Lesotho | 12.5% | 2024 | up 19.0% | falling |
| 38 | Ghana | 12.0% | 2022 | down 10.4% | falling |
| 38 | Sierra Leone | 12.0% | 2021 | down 35.1% | falling |
| 40 | Zambia | 11.8% | 2018 | down 20.8% | falling |
| 41 | Gambia | 11.6% | 2020 | down 33.3% | falling |
| 42 | Tanzania | 11.4% | 2022 | down 19.1% | falling |
| 43 | Oman | 11.2% | 2017 | up 30.2% | falling |
| 44 | Cameroon | 11.0% | 2018 | down 33.3% | falling |
| 45 | Liberia | 10.9% | 2019 | down 33.5% | falling |
| 46 | Haiti | 10.7% | 2023 | down 17.7% | falling |
| 47 | Syria | 10.4% | 2010 | up 73.3% | falling |
| 48 | Kenya | 9.8% | 2022 | down 21.0% | falling |
| 49 | Vietnam | 9.7% | 2023 | down 36.6% | falling |
| 49 | Uganda | 9.7% | 2022 | down 18.5% | falling |
| 51 | Zimbabwe | 9.6% | 2024 | down 14.3% | flat |
| 52 | Guyana | 9.4% | 2019 | down 14.5% | falling |
| 53 | North Korea | 9.3% | 2017 | down 50.5% | volatile |
| 54 | Comoros | 9.1% | 2022 | down 46.2% | falling |
| 55 | Bhutan | 8.7% | 2023 | down 31.5% | volatile |
| 56 | Rwanda | 7.7% | 2020 | down 34.2% | falling |
| 57 | Honduras | 7.1% | 2019 | down 18.4% | falling |
| 58 | Thailand | 6.7% | 2022 | down 27.2% | falling |
| 59 | Tajikistan | 5.2% | 2023 | down 60.9% | falling |
| 60 | Eswatini | 5.0% | 2021 | down 15.3% | falling |
| 60 | El Salvador | 5.0% | 2021 | down 25.4% | falling |
| 62 | South Africa | 4.9% | 2017 | down 46.2% | falling |
| 62 | Ecuador | 4.9% | 2024 | down 3.9% | falling |
| 64 | Nicaragua | 4.6% | 2012 | down 40.3% | falling |
| 65 | Iran | 4.3% | 2017 | down 6.5% | volatile |
| 66 | Mexico | 4.2% | 2022 | up 50.0% | falling |
| 67 | Iraq | 3.9% | 2018 | down 45.1% | falling |
| 68 | Egypt | 3.7% | 2021 | down 45.6% | falling |
| 68 | Colombia | 3.7% | 2016 | down 26.0% | falling |
| 70 | Romania | 3.5% | 2002 | down 30.0% | falling |
| 70 | Saudi Arabia | 3.5% | 2020 | down 38.6% | volatile |
| 72 | Bolivia | 3.4% | 2016 | down 24.4% | falling |
| 73 | Azerbaijan | 3.0% | 2023 | down 38.8% | falling |
| 73 | Morocco | 3.0% | 2019 | up 3.4% | falling |
| 73 | Dominican Republic | 3.0% | 2019 | down 11.8% | falling |
| 76 | Costa Rica | 2.9% | 2018 | up 222.2% | flat |
| 76 | Kyrgyzstan | 2.9% | 2023 | down 23.7% | volatile |
| 76 | Venezuela | 2.9% | 2009 | down 29.3% | falling |
| 79 | Kuwait | 2.8% | 2023 | down 22.2% | rising |
| 80 | Peru | 2.7% | 2023 | down 25.0% | falling |
| 80 | Algeria | 2.7% | 2019 | down 20.6% | falling |
| 82 | Armenia | 2.6% | 2016 | down 38.1% | rising |
| 83 | Jordan | 2.5% | 2023 | down 16.7% | falling |
| 83 | Jamaica | 2.5% | 2018 | up 4.2% | falling |
| 85 | China | 2.4% | 2013 | down 64.7% | volatile |
| 86 | Palestine | 2.1% | 2020 | down 43.2% | falling |
| 87 | Kazakhstan | 2.0% | 2015 | down 59.2% | falling |
| 88 | Mongolia | 1.9% | 2023 | up 18.8% | volatile |
| 89 | Uruguay | 1.8% | 2018 | down 53.8% | falling |
| 89 | Uzbekistan | 1.8% | 2021 | down 59.1% | volatile |
| 91 | Tunisia | 1.6% | 2018 | down 51.5% | volatile |
| 92 | Turkey | 1.5% | 2018 | down 21.1% | volatile |
| 93 | United Kingdom | 0.6% | 2019 | unchanged | flat |
| 94 | Chile | 0.5% | 2014 | down 16.7% | volatile |
| 95 | South Korea | 0.4% | 2020 | down 50.0% | falling |
| 95 | United States | 0.4% | 2018 | down 42.9% | falling |
About this data
The share of children younger than five years old whose weight for age is more than two standard deviations below the median for the international reference population for ages 0-59 months.