Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Senegal
Senegal: Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight was 16.2% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Senegal, 1986–2023
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 Senegal is 16.2%, measured in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 9.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Senegal peaked at 20.4% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 12.8%, in 2014.
Senegal ranks 26th of 96 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 16 years of available data.
Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Senegal, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | 16.9% | — |
| 1991 | 20.4% | +20.7% |
| 1993 | 19.0% | -6.9% |
| 1996 | 18.5% | -2.6% |
| 2000 | 17.8% | -3.8% |
| 2005 | 14.5% | -18.5% |
| 2011 | 18.4% | +26.9% |
| 2012 | 14.4% | -21.7% |
| 2013 | 14.8% | +2.8% |
| 2014 | 12.8% | -13.5% |
| 2015 | 14.0% | +9.4% |
| 2016 | 13.8% | -1.4% |
| 2017 | 14.4% | +4.3% |
| 2018 | 15.1% | +4.9% |
| 2019 | 14.4% | -4.6% |
| 2023 | 16.2% | +12.5% |
Senegal compared with similar countries
- Senegal's 16.2% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 11.6%, 1.4× the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Senegal's 16.2% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 16.9% | 16.9% | 16.9% | 1 |
| 1990s | 19.3% | 18.5% | 20.4% | 3 |
| 2000s | 16.1% | 14.5% | 17.8% | 2 |
| 2010s | 14.7% | 12.8% | 18.4% | 9 |
| 2020s | 16.2% | 16.2% | 16.2% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Senegal
- 23 Burkina Faso 16.9% compare
- 24 Philippines 16.7% compare
- 25 Cambodia 16.3% compare
- 27 Indonesia 15.9% compare
- 28 Mozambique 15.4% compare
- 29 Malaysia 15.3% compare
More reference data data for Senegal
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.2247 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 3.89 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 4.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1649 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 4.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.7534 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.5106 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 17.48 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 20.77 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.8979 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Senegal?
- Malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Senegal was 16.2% in 2023, 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 Senegal?
- The highest recorded value was 20.4% in 1991.
- What is the lowest malnutrition: share of children who are underweight recorded in Senegal?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.8% in 2014.
- How does Senegal rank for malnutrition: share of children who are underweight?
- Senegal ranks 26th out of 96 countries with data for 2023.
- Is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight rising or falling in Senegal?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Senegal 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 — 16 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
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.