Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Gambia
Gambia: Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight was 11.6% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Gambia, 1996–2020
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 Gambia is 11.6%, measured in 2020. That is the lowest value across all 8 years on record.
That represents a change of down 16.5% on the previous year and down 33.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Gambia peaked at 23.2% in 1996 and was at its lowest, 11.6%, in 2020.
Gambia ranks 41st of 96 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Gambia, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 23.2% | — |
| 2000 | 15.4% | -33.6% |
| 2006 | 15.8% | +2.6% |
| 2010 | 17.4% | +10.1% |
| 2012 | 17.9% | +2.9% |
| 2013 | 16.5% | -7.8% |
| 2018 | 13.9% | -15.8% |
| 2020 | 11.6% | -16.5% |
Gambia compared with similar countries
- Gambia's 11.6% is below the median for low income countries, which is 16.9%, 69% of the median. (21 countries reporting)
- Gambia's 11.6% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 14.3%, 81% of the median. (34 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 23.2% | 23.2% | 23.2% | 1 |
| 2000s | 15.6% | 15.4% | 15.8% | 2 |
| 2010s | 16.4% | 13.9% | 17.9% | 4 |
| 2020s | 11.6% | 11.6% | 11.6% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Gambia
More reference data data for Gambia
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0121 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.2798 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.3524 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0232 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.3524 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0407 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.0331 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.36 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.72 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1264 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Gambia?
- Malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Gambia was 11.6% in 2020, 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 Gambia?
- The highest recorded value was 23.2% in 1996.
- What is the lowest malnutrition: share of children who are underweight recorded in Gambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.6% in 2020.
- How does Gambia rank for malnutrition: share of children who are underweight?
- Gambia ranks 41st out of 96 countries with data for 2020.
- Is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight rising or falling in Gambia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 33.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Gambia 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 — 8 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.