Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Thailand

Thailand: Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight was 6.7% in 2022. ▼ Falling

Latest (2022)
6.7%
Change on year
down 13.0%
World rank
58th
of 96 countries
All-time high
17.2%
in 1987
All-time low
6.7%
in 2016
Years of data
8
1987–2022

Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Thailand, 1987–2022

0510151987200420221987: 17.2 % of children under 51993: 16.3 % of children under 51995: 15.4 % of children under 52006: 7 % of children under 52012: 9.2 % of children under 52016: 6.7 % of children under 52019: 7.7 % of children under 52022: 6.7 % 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

Thailand recorded 6.7% for malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in 2022. That is the lowest value across all 8 years on record.

The figure is down 13.0% on the previous year and down 27.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Thailand peaked at 17.2% in 1987 and was at its lowest, 6.7%, in 2016.

Thailand ranks 58th of 96 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 17.2% 17.2% 17.2% 1
1990s 15.9% 15.4% 16.3% 2
2000s 7.0% 7.0% 7.0% 1
2010s 7.9% 6.7% 9.2% 3
2020s 6.7% 6.7% 6.7% 1

Countries ranked near Thailand

  1. 55 Bhutan 8.7% compare
  2. 56 Rwanda 7.7% compare
  3. 57 Honduras 7.1% compare
  4. 59 Tajikistan 5.2% compare
  5. 60 El Salvador 5.0% compare
  6. 60 Eswatini 5.0% compare

See the full ranking of 96 places →

More reference data data for Thailand

All data for Thailand →

Frequently asked questions

What is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Thailand?
Malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Thailand was 6.7% 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 Thailand?
The highest recorded value was 17.2% in 1987.
What is the lowest malnutrition: share of children who are underweight recorded in Thailand?
The lowest recorded value was 6.7% in 2016.
How does Thailand rank for malnutrition: share of children who are underweight?
Thailand ranks 58th out of 96 countries with data for 2022.
Is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight rising or falling in Thailand?
Over the last ten years it is down 27.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Thailand 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.