Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Uruguay

Uruguay: Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight was 1.8% in 2018. ▼ Falling

Latest (2018)
1.8%
Change on year
down 45.5%
World rank
89th
of 96 countries
All-time high
6.5%
in 1987
All-time low
1.1%
in 2013
Years of data
10
1987–2018

Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Uruguay, 1987–2018

2461987200220181987: 6.5 % of children under 51999: 4.7 % of children under 52002: 5.4 % of children under 52003: 5 % of children under 52004: 6 % of children under 52007: 3.9 % of children under 52011: 3.9 % of children under 52013: 1.1 % of children under 52016: 3.3 % of children under 52018: 1.8 % 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

Uruguay recorded 1.8% for malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in 2018.

The figure is down 45.5% on the previous year and down 53.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Uruguay peaked at 6.5% in 1987 and was at its lowest, 1.1%, in 2013.

Uruguay ranks 89th of 96 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 10 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 6.5% 6.5% 6.5% 1
1990s 4.7% 4.7% 4.7% 1
2000s 5.1% 3.9% 6.0% 4
2010s 2.5% 1.1% 3.9% 4

Countries ranked near Uruguay

  1. 86 Palestine 2.1% compare
  2. 87 Kazakhstan 2.0% compare
  3. 88 Mongolia 1.9% compare
  4. 89 Uzbekistan 1.8% compare
  5. 91 Tunisia 1.6% compare
  6. 92 Turkey 1.5% compare

See the full ranking of 96 places →

More reference data data for Uruguay

All data for Uruguay →

Frequently asked questions

What is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Uruguay?
Malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Uruguay was 1.8% in 2018, 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 Uruguay?
The highest recorded value was 6.5% in 1987.
What is the lowest malnutrition: share of children who are underweight recorded in Uruguay?
The lowest recorded value was 1.1% in 2013.
How does Uruguay rank for malnutrition: share of children who are underweight?
Uruguay ranks 89th out of 96 countries with data for 2018.
Is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight rising or falling in Uruguay?
Over the last ten years it is down 53.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Uruguay 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.