Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Madagascar

Madagascar: Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight was 22.6% in 2021. ▼ Falling

Latest (2021)
22.6%
Change on year
down 14.4%
World rank
10th
of 96 countries
All-time high
40.9%
in 1993
All-time low
22.6%
in 2021
Years of data
9
1992–2021

Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Madagascar, 1992–2021

0102030401992200620211992: 35.2 % of children under 51993: 40.9 % of children under 51995: 30.4 % of children under 51997: 35.6 % of children under 52004: 36.7 % of children under 52011: 28.4 % of children under 52012: 32.6 % of children under 52018: 26.4 % of children under 52021: 22.6 % 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

Madagascar recorded 22.6% for malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in 2021. That is the lowest value across all 9 years on record.

That represents a change of down 14.4% on the previous year and down 20.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Madagascar peaked at 40.9% in 1993 and was at its lowest, 22.6%, in 2021.

That places Madagascar 10th out of 96 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the top 10%.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 35.5% 30.4% 40.9% 4
2000s 36.7% 36.7% 36.7% 1
2010s 29.1% 26.4% 32.6% 3
2020s 22.6% 22.6% 22.6% 1

Countries ranked near Madagascar

  1. 7 Nigeria 24.4% compare
  2. 8 Laos 24.3% compare
  3. 9 Pakistan 23.1% compare
  4. 11 Mauritania 22.4% compare
  5. 12 Bangladesh 21.7% compare
  6. 13 Ethiopia 21.2% compare

See the full ranking of 96 places →

More reference data data for Madagascar

All data for Madagascar →

Frequently asked questions

What is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Madagascar?
Malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Madagascar was 22.6% in 2021, 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 Madagascar?
The highest recorded value was 40.9% in 1993.
What is the lowest malnutrition: share of children who are underweight recorded in Madagascar?
The lowest recorded value was 22.6% in 2021.
How does Madagascar rank for malnutrition: share of children who are underweight?
Madagascar ranks 10th out of 96 countries with data for 2021.
Is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight rising or falling in Madagascar?
Over the last ten years it is down 20.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Madagascar 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 — 9 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

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.