Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Bolivia

Bolivia: Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight was 3.4% in 2016. ▼ Falling

Latest (2016)
3.4%
World rank
72nd
of 96 countries
All-time high
12.5%
in 1994
All-time low
3.4%
in 2016
Years of data
11
1988–2016

Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Bolivia, 1988–2016

46810121988200220161988: 9.8 % of children under 51989: 8.9 % of children under 51990: 9.7 % of children under 51991: 10.2 % of children under 51992: 10.5 % of children under 51994: 12.5 % of children under 51998: 5.9 % of children under 52003: 5.8 % of children under 52008: 4.5 % of children under 52012: 3.6 % of children under 52016: 3.4 % of children under 5

Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME) - UNICEF, WHO, and World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of children under 5.

Analysis

In 2016, malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Bolivia stood at 3.4%. That is the lowest value across all 11 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 24.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Bolivia peaked at 12.5% in 1994 and was at its lowest, 3.4%, in 2016.

Bolivia ranks 72nd of 96 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 11 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 9.4% 8.9% 9.8% 2
1990s 9.8% 5.9% 12.5% 5
2000s 5.2% 4.5% 5.8% 2
2010s 3.5% 3.4% 3.6% 2

Countries ranked near Bolivia

  1. 70 Romania 3.5% compare
  2. 70 Saudi Arabia 3.5% compare
  3. 73 Azerbaijan 3.0% compare
  4. 73 Dominican Republic 3.0% compare
  5. 73 Morocco 3.0% compare

See the full ranking of 96 places →

More reference data data for Bolivia

All data for Bolivia →

Frequently asked questions

What is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Bolivia?
Malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Bolivia was 3.4% in 2016, according to Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME) - UNICEF, WHO, and World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest malnutrition: share of children who are underweight recorded in Bolivia?
The highest recorded value was 12.5% in 1994.
What is the lowest malnutrition: share of children who are underweight recorded in Bolivia?
The lowest recorded value was 3.4% in 2016.
How does Bolivia rank for malnutrition: share of children who are underweight?
Bolivia ranks 72nd out of 96 countries with data for 2016.
Is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight rising or falling in Bolivia?
Over the last ten years it is down 24.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Bolivia data come from?
The figures come from Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME) - UNICEF, WHO, and World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

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About this data

Indicator
Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight
Unit
% of children under 5
Source
Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME) - UNICEF, WHO, and World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
96 places, 957 data points, 1984–2024
Last refreshed

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.