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

Latest (2019)
0.6%
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
93rd
of 96 countries
All-time high
0.7%
in 2007
All-time low
0.1%
in 2011
Years of data
13
2007–2019

Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in United Kingdom, 2007–2019

00.20.40.62007201320192007: 0.7 % of children under 52008: 0.6 % of children under 52009: 0.6 % of children under 52010: 0.6 % of children under 52011: 0.1 % of children under 52012: 0.6 % of children under 52013: 0.6 % of children under 52014: 0.6 % of children under 52015: 0.6 % of children under 52016: 0.6 % of children under 52017: 0.5 % of children under 52018: 0.6 % of children under 52019: 0.6 % 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 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.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 0.6% 0.6% 0.7% 3
2010s 0.5% 0.1% 0.6% 10

Countries ranked near United Kingdom

  1. 91 Tunisia 1.6% compare
  2. 92 Turkey 1.5% compare
  3. 94 Chile 0.5% compare
  4. 95 South Korea 0.4% compare
  5. 95 United States 0.4% compare

See the full ranking of 96 places →

More reference data data for United Kingdom

All data for United Kingdom →

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.

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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.