Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Nepal
Nepal: Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight was 18.3% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Nepal, 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 Nepal stood at 18.3%. That is the lowest value across all 11 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 25.0% on the previous year and down 36.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Nepal peaked at 42.8% in 1996 and was at its lowest, 18.3%, in 2022.
That places Nepal 19th out of 96 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 11 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 40.6% | 36.5% | 42.8% | 3 |
| 2000s | 40.7% | 38.6% | 42.8% | 2 |
| 2010s | 28.2% | 24.4% | 31.1% | 5 |
| 2020s | 18.3% | 18.3% | 18.3% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Nepal
- 16 Guinea-Bissau 18.8% compare
- 17 Afghanistan 18.4% compare
- 17 Central African Republic 18.4% compare
- 20 Chad 18.2% compare
- 21 Djibouti 17.7% compare
- 22 Sri Lanka 17.1% compare
More reference data data for Nepal
- Spring temperature anomalies 1.53 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.1404 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 1.1 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 1.22 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 0.8422 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 254.62 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 Nepal?
- Malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Nepal was 18.3% 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 Nepal?
- The highest recorded value was 42.8% in 1996.
- What is the lowest malnutrition: share of children who are underweight recorded in Nepal?
- The lowest recorded value was 18.3% in 2022.
- How does Nepal rank for malnutrition: share of children who are underweight?
- Nepal ranks 19th out of 96 countries with data for 2022.
- Is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight rising or falling in Nepal?
- Over the last ten years it is down 36.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Nepal 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.