Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Cameroon
Cameroon: Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight was 11.0% in 2018. ▼ Falling
Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Cameroon, 1991–2018
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 2018, malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Cameroon stood at 11.0%. That is the lowest value across all 7 years on record.
That represents a change of down 33.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Cameroon peaked at 18.1% in 1998 and was at its lowest, 11.0%, in 2018.
That places Cameroon 44th out of 96 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the middle of the range.
Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Cameroon, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 12.9% | — |
| 1998 | 18.1% | +40.3% |
| 2004 | 15.1% | -16.6% |
| 2006 | 16.5% | +9.3% |
| 2011 | 15.2% | -7.9% |
| 2014 | 14.8% | -2.6% |
| 2018 | 11.0% | -25.7% |
Cameroon compared with similar countries
- Cameroon's 11.0% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 11.6%, 95% of the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Cameroon's 11.0% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 14.3%, 77% of the median. (34 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 15.5% | 12.9% | 18.1% | 2 |
| 2000s | 15.8% | 15.1% | 16.5% | 2 |
| 2010s | 13.7% | 11.0% | 15.2% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Cameroon
More reference data data for Cameroon
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.4076 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 3.49 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 4.56 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.199 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 4.56 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.54 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 17.29 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 23.23 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.08 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Cameroon?
- Malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Cameroon was 11.0% in 2018, 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 Cameroon?
- The highest recorded value was 18.1% in 1998.
- What is the lowest malnutrition: share of children who are underweight recorded in Cameroon?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.0% in 2018.
- How does Cameroon rank for malnutrition: share of children who are underweight?
- Cameroon ranks 44th out of 96 countries with data for 2018.
- Is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight rising or falling in Cameroon?
- Over the last ten years it is down 33.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Cameroon 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.