Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight was 21.2% in 2019. ▼ Falling
Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Ethiopia, 1992–2019
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 Ethiopia is 21.2%, measured in 2019. That is the lowest value across all 7 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 9.8% on the previous year and down 27.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Ethiopia peaked at 41.9% in 1992 and was at its lowest, 21.2%, in 2019.
Ethiopia ranks 13th of 96 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 41.9% | 41.9% | 41.9% | 1 |
| 2000s | 38.0% | 34.3% | 41.8% | 2 |
| 2010s | 25.1% | 21.2% | 29.2% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Ethiopia
- 10 Madagascar 22.6% compare
- 11 Mauritania 22.4% compare
- 12 Bangladesh 21.7% compare
- 14 Benin 19.6% compare
- 15 Myanmar 19.5% compare
- 16 Guinea-Bissau 18.8% compare
More reference data data for Ethiopia
- Spring temperature anomalies -0.8567 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 1.21 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 0.2007 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 0.4577 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 0.8867 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 1,176 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 0 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Ethiopia?
- Malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Ethiopia was 21.2% in 2019, 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 Ethiopia?
- The highest recorded value was 41.9% in 1992.
- What is the lowest malnutrition: share of children who are underweight recorded in Ethiopia?
- The lowest recorded value was 21.2% in 2019.
- How does Ethiopia rank for malnutrition: share of children who are underweight?
- Ethiopia ranks 13th out of 96 countries with data for 2019.
- Is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight rising or falling in Ethiopia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 27.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ethiopia 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.