Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Niger

Niger: Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight was 34.6% in 2022. ▼ Falling

Latest (2022)
34.6%
Change on year
up 4.2%
World rank
2nd
of 96 countries
All-time high
46.6%
in 1998
All-time low
31.3%
in 2019
Years of data
20
1985–2022

Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Niger, 1985–2022

010203040501985200320221985: 45 % of children under 51992: 38.7 % of children under 51998: 46.6 % of children under 52000: 43.1 % of children under 52006: 35.6 % of children under 52007: 37.9 % of children under 52008: 34.6 % of children under 52009: 33.5 % of children under 52010: 40 % of children under 52011: 36.2 % of children under 52012: 32.1 % of children under 52013: 33.1 % of children under 52014: 34.6 % of children under 52015: 35.8 % of children under 52016: 32 % of children under 52018: 37.5 % of children under 52019: 31.3 % of children under 52020: 33.4 % of children under 52021: 33.2 % of children under 52022: 34.6 % 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

The most recent figure for malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Niger is 34.6%, measured in 2022.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 4.2% on the previous year and up 7.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Niger peaked at 46.6% in 1998 and was at its lowest, 31.3%, in 2019.

Niger ranks 2nd of 96 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 20 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 45.0% 45.0% 45.0% 1
1990s 42.7% 38.7% 46.6% 2
2000s 36.9% 33.5% 43.1% 5
2010s 34.7% 31.3% 40.0% 9
2020s 33.7% 33.2% 34.6% 3

Countries ranked near Niger

  1. 1 Yemen 40.7% compare
  2. 3 East Timor 31.9% compare
  3. 4 India 31.5% compare
  4. 5 Burundi 28.3% compare

See the full ranking of 96 places →

More reference data data for Niger

All data for Niger →

Frequently asked questions

What is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Niger?
Malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Niger was 34.6% 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 Niger?
The highest recorded value was 46.6% in 1998.
What is the lowest malnutrition: share of children who are underweight recorded in Niger?
The lowest recorded value was 31.3% in 2019.
How does Niger rank for malnutrition: share of children who are underweight?
Niger ranks 2nd out of 96 countries with data for 2022.
Is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight rising or falling in Niger?
Over the last ten years it is up 7.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Niger 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.