Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Chile
Chile: Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight was 0.5% in 2014. ◆ Volatile
Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Chile, 1986–2014
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
The most recent figure for malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Chile is 0.5%, measured in 2014. That is the lowest value across all 15 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 16.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Chile peaked at 2.2% in 1986 and was at its lowest, 0.5%, in 2008.
Chile ranks 94th of 96 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Chile, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | 2.2% | — |
| 1994 | 0.8% | -63.6% |
| 1995 | 0.8% | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 0.7% | -12.5% |
| 1998 | 0.7% | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 0.7% | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 0.7% | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 0.7% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 0.6% | -14.3% |
| 2004 | 0.6% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 0.6% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 0.6% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 0.5% | -16.7% |
| 2013 | 0.5% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 0.5% | +0.0% |
Chile compared with similar countries
- Chile's 0.5% is below the median for high income countries, which is 2.8%, 18% of the median. (11 countries reporting)
- Chile's 0.5% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 3.7%, 14% of the median. (17 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 2.2% | 2.2% | 2.2% | 1 |
| 1990s | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 5 |
| 2000s | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.7% | 7 |
| 2010s | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Chile
- 91 Tunisia 1.6% compare
- 92 Turkey 1.5% compare
- 93 United Kingdom 0.6% compare
- 95 South Korea 0.4% compare
- 95 United States 0.4% compare
More reference data data for Chile
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.9268 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 2.22 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 5.33 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.2204 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 5.33 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 3.11 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.46 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 11.45 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 25.25 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.2 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Chile?
- Malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Chile was 0.5% in 2014, 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 Chile?
- The highest recorded value was 2.2% in 1986.
- What is the lowest malnutrition: share of children who are underweight recorded in Chile?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.5% in 2008.
- How does Chile rank for malnutrition: share of children who are underweight?
- Chile ranks 94th out of 96 countries with data for 2014.
- Is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight rising or falling in Chile?
- Over the last ten years it is down 16.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Chile 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
CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
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.