Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Bolivia
Bolivia: Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight was 3.4% in 2016. ▼ Falling
Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Bolivia, 1988–2016
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.
Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Bolivia, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 9.8% | — |
| 1989 | 8.9% | -9.2% |
| 1990 | 9.7% | +9.0% |
| 1991 | 10.2% | +5.2% |
| 1992 | 10.5% | +2.9% |
| 1994 | 12.5% | +19.0% |
| 1998 | 5.9% | -52.8% |
| 2003 | 5.8% | -1.7% |
| 2008 | 4.5% | -22.4% |
| 2012 | 3.6% | -20.0% |
| 2016 | 3.4% | -5.6% |
Bolivia compared with similar countries
- Bolivia's 3.4% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 11.6%, 29% of the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Bolivia's 3.4% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 3.7%, 92% of the median. (17 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | 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
- 70 Romania 3.5% compare
- 70 Saudi Arabia 3.5% compare
- 73 Azerbaijan 3.0% compare
- 73 Dominican Republic 3.0% compare
- 73 Morocco 3.0% compare
More reference data data for Bolivia
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.7329 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 3.91 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 5.22 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.3892 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 5.22 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 2.46 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.33 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 18.39 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 25.12 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.12 (2050)
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
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.