Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Laos
Laos: Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight was 24.3% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Laos, 1993–2023
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 2023, malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Laos stood at 24.3%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 8.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Laos peaked at 39.8% in 1993 and was at its lowest, 21.1%, in 2017.
That places Laos 8th out of 96 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 37.8% | 35.9% | 39.8% | 2 |
| 2000s | 33.6% | 31.6% | 35.6% | 2 |
| 2010s | 24.4% | 21.1% | 26.6% | 3 |
| 2020s | 24.3% | 24.3% | 24.3% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Laos
- 5 Burundi 28.3% compare
- 6 Democratic Republic of Congo 25.0% compare
- 7 Nigeria 24.4% compare
- 9 Pakistan 23.1% compare
- 10 Madagascar 22.6% compare
- 11 Mauritania 22.4% compare
More reference data data for Laos
- Spring temperature anomalies 0.2805 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.8819 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month -0.3578 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 0.4679 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 0.95 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 317.16 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 0 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Laos?
- Malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Laos was 24.3% 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 Laos?
- The highest recorded value was 39.8% in 1993.
- What is the lowest malnutrition: share of children who are underweight recorded in Laos?
- The lowest recorded value was 21.1% in 2017.
- How does Laos rank for malnutrition: share of children who are underweight?
- Laos ranks 8th out of 96 countries with data for 2023.
- Is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight rising or falling in Laos?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Laos 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 — 8 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.