Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Uruguay
Uruguay: Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight was 1.8% in 2018. ▼ Falling
Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Uruguay, 1987–2018
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.
Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Uruguay, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 6.5% | — |
| 1999 | 4.7% | -27.7% |
| 2002 | 5.4% | +14.9% |
| 2003 | 5.0% | -7.4% |
| 2004 | 6.0% | +20.0% |
| 2007 | 3.9% | -35.0% |
| 2011 | 3.9% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 1.1% | -71.8% |
| 2016 | 3.3% | +200.0% |
| 2018 | 1.8% | -45.5% |
Uruguay compared with similar countries
- Uruguay's 1.8% is below the median for high income countries, which is 2.8%, 64% of the median. (11 countries reporting)
- Uruguay's 1.8% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 3.7%, 49% of the median. (17 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | 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
More reference data data for Uruguay
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.2999 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 4.87 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 6.98 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.3685 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 6.98 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.01 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.2195 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 24.48 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 33.62 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.01 (2050)
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
CSV · JSON — 10 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.