Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe: Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight was 9.6% in 2024. ▬ Flat

Latest (2024)
9.6%
World rank
51st
of 96 countries
All-time high
14.0%
in 2005
All-time low
8.0%
in 1988
Years of data
12
1987–2024

Malnutrition: Share of children who are underweight in Zimbabwe, 1987–2024

0510151987200520241987: 10.5 % of children under 51988: 8 % of children under 51994: 11.8 % of children under 51999: 11.5 % of children under 52005: 14 % of children under 52009: 11.7 % of children under 52010: 10.2 % of children under 52012: 11.1 % of children under 52014: 11.2 % of children under 52015: 8.5 % of children under 52019: 9.7 % of children under 52024: 9.6 % 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

Zimbabwe recorded 9.6% for malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in 2024.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 14.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Zimbabwe peaked at 14.0% in 2005 and was at its lowest, 8.0%, in 1988.

That places Zimbabwe 51st out of 96 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 9.2% 8.0% 10.5% 2
1990s 11.7% 11.5% 11.8% 2
2000s 12.8% 11.7% 14.0% 2
2010s 10.1% 8.5% 11.2% 5
2020s 9.6% 9.6% 9.6% 1

Countries ranked near Zimbabwe

  1. 48 Kenya 9.8% compare
  2. 49 Uganda 9.7% compare
  3. 49 Vietnam 9.7% compare
  4. 52 Guyana 9.4% compare
  5. 53 North Korea 9.3% compare
  6. 54 Comoros 9.1% compare

See the full ranking of 96 places →

More reference data data for Zimbabwe

All data for Zimbabwe →

Frequently asked questions

What is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Zimbabwe?
Malnutrition: share of children who are underweight in Zimbabwe was 9.6% in 2024, 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 Zimbabwe?
The highest recorded value was 14.0% in 2005.
What is the lowest malnutrition: share of children who are underweight recorded in Zimbabwe?
The lowest recorded value was 8.0% in 1988.
How does Zimbabwe rank for malnutrition: share of children who are underweight?
Zimbabwe ranks 51st out of 96 countries with data for 2024.
Is malnutrition: share of children who are underweight rising or falling in Zimbabwe?
Over the last ten years it is down 14.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this Zimbabwe 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.