Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Liberia

Liberia: Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight was 10.9% in 2019. ▼ Falling

Latest (2019)
10.9%
Change on year
down 19.9%
World rank
45th
of 96 countries
All-time high
22.8%
in 2000
All-time low
10.9%
in 2019
Years of data
7
2000–2019

Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Liberia, 2000–2019

05101520252000200920192000: 22.8 % of children under 52007: 20.4 % of children under 52008: 16.4 % of children under 52010: 16.6 % of children under 52013: 15.3 % of children under 52016: 13.6 % of children under 52019: 10.9 % 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

Liberia recorded 10.9% for malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in 2019. That is the lowest value across all 7 years on record.

That represents a change of down 19.9% on the previous year and down 33.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Liberia peaked at 22.8% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 10.9%, in 2019.

Liberia ranks 45th of 96 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 19.9% 16.4% 22.8% 3
2010s 14.1% 10.9% 16.6% 4

Countries ranked near Liberia

  1. 42 Tanzania 11.4% compare
  2. 43 Oman 11.2% compare
  3. 44 Cameroon 11.0% compare
  4. 46 Haiti 10.7% compare
  5. 47 Syria 10.4% compare
  6. 48 Kenya 9.8% compare

See the full ranking of 96 places →

More reference data data for Liberia

All data for Liberia →

Frequently asked questions

What is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Liberia?
Malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Liberia was 10.9% in 2019, 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 Liberia?
The highest recorded value was 22.8% in 2000.
What is the lowest malnutrition: share of children who are underweight recorded in Liberia?
The lowest recorded value was 10.9% in 2019.
How does Liberia rank for malnutrition: share of children who are underweight?
Liberia ranks 45th out of 96 countries with data for 2019.
Is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight rising or falling in Liberia?
Over the last ten years it is down 33.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Liberia 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.