Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in India
India: Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight was 31.5% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in India, 1989–2020
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
In 2020, malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in India stood at 31.5%.
That represents a change of down 6.8% on the previous year and down 27.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in India peaked at 55.5% in 1989 and was at its lowest, 29.4%, in 2014.
That places India 4th out of 96 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 10 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 55.5% | 55.5% | 55.5% | 1 |
| 1990s | 47.0% | 38.4% | 52.8% | 4 |
| 2000s | 43.5% | 43.5% | 43.5% | 1 |
| 2010s | 33.2% | 29.4% | 36.3% | 3 |
| 2020s | 31.5% | 31.5% | 31.5% | 1 |
Countries ranked near India
More reference data data for India
- Spring temperature anomalies 0.8635 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.6189 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 0.0088 °C (2026)
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- Autumn temperature anomalies 0.3046 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies -0.2053 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 233.06 2010 = 100 (2025)
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- Competitive elections 1 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in India?
- Malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in India was 31.5% 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 India?
- The highest recorded value was 55.5% in 1989.
- What is the lowest malnutrition: share of children who are underweight recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 29.4% in 2014.
- How does India rank for malnutrition: share of children who are underweight?
- India ranks 4th out of 96 countries with data for 2020.
- Is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is down 27.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this India 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 — 10 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.