Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight was 0.6% in 2019. ▬ Flat
Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in United Kingdom, 2007–2019
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 United Kingdom is 0.6%, measured in 2019.
Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in United Kingdom peaked at 0.7% in 2007 and was at its lowest, 0.1%, in 2011.
United Kingdom ranks 93rd of 96 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in United Kingdom, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 0.7% | — |
| 2008 | 0.6% | -14.3% |
| 2009 | 0.6% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 0.6% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 0.1% | -83.3% |
| 2012 | 0.6% | +500.0% |
| 2013 | 0.6% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 0.6% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 0.6% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 0.6% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 0.5% | -16.7% |
| 2018 | 0.6% | +20.0% |
| 2019 | 0.6% | +0.0% |
United Kingdom compared with similar countries
- United Kingdom's 0.6% is below the median for high income countries, which is 2.8%, 21% of the median. (11 countries reporting)
- United Kingdom's 0.6% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 2.6%, 23% of the median. (9 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.7% | 3 |
| 2010s | 0.5% | 0.1% | 0.6% | 10 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
- 91 Tunisia 1.6% compare
- 92 Turkey 1.5% compare
- 94 Chile 0.5% compare
- 95 South Korea 0.4% compare
- 95 United States 0.4% compare
More reference data data for United Kingdom
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 3.13 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 3.97 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 13.26 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.01 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 13.26 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 10.5 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 6.51 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 15.81 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 59.34 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 5.48 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in United Kingdom?
- Malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in United Kingdom was 0.6% in 2019, 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 United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 0.7% in 2007.
- What is the lowest malnutrition: share of children who are underweight recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1% in 2011.
- How does United Kingdom rank for malnutrition: share of children who are underweight?
- United Kingdom ranks 93rd out of 96 countries with data for 2019.
- Is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this United Kingdom 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 — 13 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.