Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Mozambique
Mozambique: Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight was 15.4% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Mozambique, 1995–2022
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
In 2022, malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Mozambique stood at 15.4%.
That represents a change of up 4.1% on the previous year and down 1.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Mozambique peaked at 24.7% in 1997 and was at its lowest, 14.8%, in 2020.
Mozambique ranks 28th of 96 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Mozambique, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 23.9% | — |
| 1997 | 24.7% | +3.3% |
| 2001 | 24.5% | -0.8% |
| 2003 | 21.2% | -13.5% |
| 2008 | 18.2% | -14.2% |
| 2011 | 15.6% | -14.3% |
| 2015 | 15.6% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 14.8% | -5.1% |
| 2022 | 15.4% | +4.1% |
Mozambique compared with similar countries
- Mozambique's 15.4% is below the median for low income countries, which is 16.9%, 91% of the median. (21 countries reporting)
- Mozambique's 15.4% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 14.3%, 1.1× the median. (34 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 24.3% | 23.9% | 24.7% | 2 |
| 2000s | 21.3% | 18.2% | 24.5% | 3 |
| 2010s | 15.6% | 15.6% | 15.6% | 2 |
| 2020s | 15.1% | 14.8% | 15.4% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Mozambique
More reference data data for Mozambique
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 2.06 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.78 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 4.53 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.2808 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 4.53 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 6.9 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 9.3 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 8.28 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 27.89 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.53 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Mozambique?
- Malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Mozambique was 15.4% 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 Mozambique?
- The highest recorded value was 24.7% in 1997.
- What is the lowest malnutrition: share of children who are underweight recorded in Mozambique?
- The lowest recorded value was 14.8% in 2020.
- How does Mozambique rank for malnutrition: share of children who are underweight?
- Mozambique ranks 28th out of 96 countries with data for 2022.
- Is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight rising or falling in Mozambique?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Mozambique 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
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.