Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Burundi

Burundi: Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight was 28.3% in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
28.3%
Change on year
up 1.1%
World rank
5th
of 96 countries
All-time high
39.1%
in 2000
All-time low
27.0%
in 2019
Years of data
12
1987–2024

Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Burundi, 1987–2024

0102030401987200520241987: 30.4 % of children under 52000: 39.1 % of children under 52005: 35.2 % of children under 52010: 29.1 % of children under 52012: 27.9 % of children under 52016: 29.3 % of children under 52018: 29.6 % of children under 52019: 27 % of children under 52020: 27.7 % of children under 52022: 27.6 % of children under 52023: 28 % of children under 52024: 28.3 % 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 2024, malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Burundi stood at 28.3%.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.1% on the previous year and up 1.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Burundi peaked at 39.1% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 27.0%, in 2019.

That places Burundi 5th out of 96 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 12 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 30.4% 30.4% 30.4% 1
2000s 37.2% 35.2% 39.1% 2
2010s 28.6% 27.0% 29.6% 5
2020s 27.9% 27.6% 28.3% 4

Countries ranked near Burundi

  1. 2 Niger 34.6% compare
  2. 3 East Timor 31.9% compare
  3. 4 India 31.5% compare
  4. 6 Democratic Republic of Congo 25.0% compare
  5. 7 Nigeria 24.4% compare
  6. 8 Laos 24.3% compare

See the full ranking of 96 places →

More reference data data for Burundi

All data for Burundi →

Frequently asked questions

What is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Burundi?
Malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Burundi was 28.3% in 2024, 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 Burundi?
The highest recorded value was 39.1% in 2000.
What is the lowest malnutrition: share of children who are underweight recorded in Burundi?
The lowest recorded value was 27.0% in 2019.
How does Burundi rank for malnutrition: share of children who are underweight?
Burundi ranks 5th out of 96 countries with data for 2024.
Is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight rising or falling in Burundi?
Over the last ten years it is up 1.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Burundi 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.