Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Indonesia

Indonesia: Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight was 15.9% in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
15.9%
Change on year
down 5.4%
World rank
27th
of 96 countries
All-time high
35.9%
in 1987
All-time low
15.9%
in 2023
Years of data
20
1987–2023

Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Indonesia, 1987–2023

0102030401987200520231987: 35.9 % of children under 51989: 31 % of children under 51992: 29.8 % of children under 51996: 30.3 % of children under 51998: 25.8 % of children under 51999: 22.8 % of children under 52000: 24.7 % of children under 52001: 23.4 % of children under 52002: 23 % of children under 52003: 23.1 % of children under 52004: 19.7 % of children under 52005: 24.4 % of children under 52008: 19.6 % of children under 52010: 18.6 % of children under 52013: 19.9 % of children under 52018: 17.7 % of children under 52019: 17.9 % of children under 52021: 17 % of children under 52022: 16.8 % of children under 52023: 15.9 % 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

Indonesia recorded 15.9% for malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 20 years on record.

The figure is down 5.4% on the previous year and down 20.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Indonesia peaked at 35.9% in 1987 and was at its lowest, 15.9%, in 2023.

That places Indonesia 27th out of 96 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 20 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 33.5% 31.0% 35.9% 2
1990s 27.2% 22.8% 30.3% 4
2000s 22.6% 19.6% 24.7% 7
2010s 18.5% 17.7% 19.9% 4
2020s 16.6% 15.9% 17.0% 3

Countries ranked near Indonesia

  1. 24 Philippines 16.7% compare
  2. 25 Cambodia 16.3% compare
  3. 26 Senegal 16.2% compare
  4. 28 Mozambique 15.4% compare
  5. 29 Malaysia 15.3% compare
  6. 30 Togo 15.2% compare

See the full ranking of 96 places →

More reference data data for Indonesia

All data for Indonesia →

Frequently asked questions

What is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Indonesia?
Malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Indonesia was 15.9% in 2023, 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 Indonesia?
The highest recorded value was 35.9% in 1987.
What is the lowest malnutrition: share of children who are underweight recorded in Indonesia?
The lowest recorded value was 15.9% in 2023.
How does Indonesia rank for malnutrition: share of children who are underweight?
Indonesia ranks 27th out of 96 countries with data for 2023.
Is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight rising or falling in Indonesia?
Over the last ten years it is down 20.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Indonesia 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

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.