Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Kenya
Kenya: Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight was 9.8% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Kenya, 1993–2022
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 Kenya is 9.8%, measured in 2022. That is the lowest value across all 11 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 21.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Kenya peaked at 19.4% in 1993 and was at its lowest, 9.8%, in 2022.
That places Kenya 48th out of 96 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 11 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 18.4% | 17.8% | 19.4% | 3 |
| 2000s | 17.0% | 16.4% | 18.0% | 4 |
| 2010s | 12.2% | 11.2% | 13.0% | 3 |
| 2020s | 9.8% | 9.8% | 9.8% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Kenya
More reference data data for Kenya
- Spring temperature anomalies -1.09 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.7428 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 0.7503 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 0.5834 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 1.22 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 267.82 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- 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 Kenya?
- Malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Kenya was 9.8% in 2022, 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 Kenya?
- The highest recorded value was 19.4% in 1993.
- What is the lowest malnutrition: share of children who are underweight recorded in Kenya?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.8% in 2022.
- How does Kenya rank for malnutrition: share of children who are underweight?
- Kenya ranks 48th out of 96 countries with data for 2022.
- Is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight rising or falling in Kenya?
- Over the last ten years it is down 21.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Kenya 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 — 11 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.