Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Oman

Oman: Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight was 11.2% in 2017. ▼ Falling

Latest (2017)
11.2%
Change on year
up 15.5%
World rank
43rd
of 96 countries
All-time high
18.6%
in 1991
All-time low
8.6%
in 2009
Years of data
6
1991–2017

Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Oman, 1991–2017

051015201991200420171991: 18.6 % of children under 51994: 14.2 % of children under 51999: 13 % of children under 52009: 8.6 % of children under 52014: 9.7 % of children under 52017: 11.2 % 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

Oman recorded 11.2% for malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in 2017.

That represents a change of up 15.5% on the previous year and up 30.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Oman peaked at 18.6% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 8.6%, in 2009.

That places Oman 43rd out of 96 countries with data for 2017, putting it in the middle of the range.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 15.3% 13.0% 18.6% 3
2000s 8.6% 8.6% 8.6% 1
2010s 10.4% 9.7% 11.2% 2

Countries ranked near Oman

  1. 40 Zambia 11.8% compare
  2. 41 Gambia 11.6% compare
  3. 42 Tanzania 11.4% compare
  4. 44 Cameroon 11.0% compare
  5. 45 Liberia 10.9% compare
  6. 46 Haiti 10.7% compare

See the full ranking of 96 places →

More reference data data for Oman

All data for Oman →

Frequently asked questions

What is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Oman?
Malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Oman was 11.2% in 2017, 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 Oman?
The highest recorded value was 18.6% in 1991.
What is the lowest malnutrition: share of children who are underweight recorded in Oman?
The lowest recorded value was 8.6% in 2009.
How does Oman rank for malnutrition: share of children who are underweight?
Oman ranks 43rd out of 96 countries with data for 2017.
Is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight rising or falling in Oman?
Over the last ten years it is up 30.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Oman 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 — 6 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.