Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Iraq
Iraq: Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight was 3.9% in 2018. ▼ Falling
Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Iraq, 1991–2018
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 2018, malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Iraq stood at 3.9%. That is the lowest value across all 7 years on record.
That represents a change of down 45.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Iraq peaked at 12.8% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 3.9%, in 2018.
That places Iraq 67th out of 96 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the middle of the range.
Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Iraq, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 10.4% | — |
| 2000 | 12.8% | +23.1% |
| 2003 | 10.1% | -21.1% |
| 2004 | 8.0% | -20.8% |
| 2006 | 7.1% | -11.3% |
| 2011 | 7.2% | +1.4% |
| 2018 | 3.9% | -45.8% |
Iraq compared with similar countries
- Iraq's 3.9% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 4.0%, 96% of the median. (26 countries reporting)
- Iraq's 3.9% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 3.8%, 1.0× the median. (16 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 10.4% | 10.4% | 10.4% | 1 |
| 2000s | 9.5% | 7.1% | 12.8% | 4 |
| 2010s | 5.5% | 3.9% | 7.2% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Iraq
More reference data data for Iraq
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.2116 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 3.19 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 7.23 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.3911 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 7.23 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.7096 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.235 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 13.21 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 30.36 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.13 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Iraq?
- Malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Iraq was 3.9% in 2018, 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 Iraq?
- The highest recorded value was 12.8% in 2000.
- What is the lowest malnutrition: share of children who are underweight recorded in Iraq?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.9% in 2018.
- How does Iraq rank for malnutrition: share of children who are underweight?
- Iraq ranks 67th out of 96 countries with data for 2018.
- Is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight rising or falling in Iraq?
- Over the last ten years it is down 45.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Iraq 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.