Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Central African Republic

Central African Republic: Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight was 18.4% in 2022. ▼ Falling

Latest (2022)
18.4%
Change on year
down 10.2%
World rank
17th
of 96 countries
All-time high
26.1%
in 2006
All-time low
18.4%
in 2022
Years of data
9
1994–2022

Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Central African Republic, 1994–2022

01020301994200820221994: 23.7 % of children under 52000: 21.3 % of children under 52006: 26.1 % of children under 52010: 23.5 % of children under 52012: 24.5 % of children under 52014: 20 % of children under 52018: 19.7 % of children under 52019: 20.5 % of children under 52022: 18.4 % 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

Central African Republic recorded 18.4% for malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in 2022. That is the lowest value across all 9 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 10.2% on the previous year and down 24.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Central African Republic peaked at 26.1% in 2006 and was at its lowest, 18.4%, in 2022.

Central African Republic ranks 17th of 96 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 23.7% 23.7% 23.7% 1
2000s 23.7% 21.3% 26.1% 2
2010s 21.6% 19.7% 24.5% 5
2020s 18.4% 18.4% 18.4% 1

Countries ranked near Central African Republic

  1. 14 Benin 19.6% compare
  2. 15 Myanmar 19.5% compare
  3. 16 Guinea-Bissau 18.8% compare
  4. 17 Afghanistan 18.4% compare
  5. 19 Nepal 18.3% compare
  6. 20 Chad 18.2% compare

See the full ranking of 96 places →

More reference data data for Central African Republic

All data for Central African Republic →

Frequently asked questions

What is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Central African Republic?
Malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Central African Republic was 18.4% in 2022, 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 Central African Republic?
The highest recorded value was 26.1% in 2006.
What is the lowest malnutrition: share of children who are underweight recorded in Central African Republic?
The lowest recorded value was 18.4% in 2022.
How does Central African Republic rank for malnutrition: share of children who are underweight?
Central African Republic ranks 17th out of 96 countries with data for 2022.
Is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight rising or falling in Central African Republic?
Over the last ten years it is down 24.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Central African Republic 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.