Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Lesotho
Lesotho: Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight was 12.5% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Lesotho, 1992–2024
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 Lesotho is 12.5%, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of up 19.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Lesotho peaked at 18.9% in 1993 and was at its lowest, 10.5%, in 2014.
That places Lesotho 37th out of 96 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 16.4% | 13.8% | 18.9% | 2 |
| 2000s | 15.0% | 13.4% | 16.6% | 2 |
| 2010s | 10.5% | 10.5% | 10.5% | 2 |
| 2020s | 12.5% | 12.5% | 12.5% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
More reference data data for Lesotho
- Spring temperature anomalies 0.6457 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 1.77 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 0.6724 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 0.5102 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies -0.4131 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 221.03 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 Lesotho?
- Malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Lesotho was 12.5% in 2024, 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 Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 18.9% in 1993.
- What is the lowest malnutrition: share of children who are underweight recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.5% in 2014.
- How does Lesotho rank for malnutrition: share of children who are underweight?
- Lesotho ranks 37th out of 96 countries with data for 2024.
- Is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 19.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Lesotho 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 — 7 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.