Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Guinea-Bissau

Guinea-Bissau: Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight was 18.8% in 2019. ▼ Falling

Latest (2019)
18.8%
World rank
16th
of 96 countries
All-time high
19.8%
in 2000
All-time low
16.4%
in 2008
Years of data
6
2000–2019

Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Guinea-Bissau, 2000–2019

051015202000200920192000: 19.8 % of children under 52008: 16.4 % of children under 52010: 18 % of children under 52012: 17 % of children under 52014: 17 % of children under 52019: 18.8 % 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

Guinea-Bissau recorded 18.8% for malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in 2019.

The figure is up 14.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Guinea-Bissau peaked at 19.8% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 16.4%, in 2008.

That places Guinea-Bissau 16th out of 96 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the top quarter.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 18.1% 16.4% 19.8% 2
2010s 17.7% 17.0% 18.8% 4

Countries ranked near Guinea-Bissau

  1. 13 Ethiopia 21.2% compare
  2. 14 Benin 19.6% compare
  3. 15 Myanmar 19.5% compare
  4. 17 Afghanistan 18.4% compare
  5. 17 Central African Republic 18.4% compare
  6. 19 Nepal 18.3% compare

See the full ranking of 96 places →

More reference data data for Guinea-Bissau

All data for Guinea-Bissau →

Frequently asked questions

What is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Guinea-Bissau?
Malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Guinea-Bissau was 18.8% 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 Guinea-Bissau?
The highest recorded value was 19.8% in 2000.
What is the lowest malnutrition: share of children who are underweight recorded in Guinea-Bissau?
The lowest recorded value was 16.4% in 2008.
How does Guinea-Bissau rank for malnutrition: share of children who are underweight?
Guinea-Bissau ranks 16th out of 96 countries with data for 2019.
Is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight rising or falling in Guinea-Bissau?
Over the last ten years it is up 14.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Guinea-Bissau 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 — 6 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

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.