Which has higher prevalence of underweight, weight for age, Ethiopia or Upper middle income?

Ethiopia, at 21.2% against 2.6% in Upper middle income as of 2019.

How many years of comparable data are there for Ethiopia and Upper middle income?

6 years are reported by both, from 2000 to 2019.

Where does this data come from?

UNICEF, WHO, World Bank: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME). Aggregation is based on UNICEF, WHO, and the World Bank harmonized dataset (adjusted, comparable data) and methodology., UN Children', published as Prevalence of underweight, weight for age (% of children under 5). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Ethiopia vs Upper middle income: Prevalence of underweight, weight for age

Ethiopia

21.2%

in 2019

Upper middle income

2.6%

in 2024

Ethiopia rank

13th

Upper middle income rank

11th

Prevalence of underweight, weight for age over time

Ethiopia
Upper middle income

How they compare

Ethiopia currently reports 21.2% against 2.6% in Upper middle income, a difference of 18.6%.

That makes Ethiopia's figure about 8.3 times Upper middle income's.

Across all 6 years both countries report, Ethiopia has been ahead every year.

Ethiopia ranks 13th and Upper middle income ranks 11th of 96 countries.

Ethiopia has averaged higher in every one of the 2 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Ethiopia	Upper middle income	Difference	Ahead
2000s	38.0%	7.2%	30.8%	Ethiopia
2010s	25.1%	4.0%	21.1%	Ethiopia

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher prevalence of underweight, weight for age, Ethiopia or Upper middle income?: Ethiopia, at 21.2% against 2.6% in Upper middle income as of 2019.
What is the difference in prevalence of underweight, weight for age between Ethiopia and Upper middle income?: 18.6%, with Ethiopia ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Ethiopia and Upper middle income?: 6 years are reported by both, from 2000 to 2019.
How do Ethiopia and Upper middle income rank globally for prevalence of underweight, weight for age?: Ethiopia ranks 13th and Upper middle income ranks 11th of 96 countries.
Where does this data come from?: UNICEF, WHO, World Bank: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME). Aggregation is based on UNICEF, WHO, and the World Bank harmonized dataset (adjusted, comparable data) and methodology., UN Children', published as Prevalence of underweight, weight for age (% of children under 5). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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Ethiopia vs Upper middle income: Prevalence of underweight, weight for age. Statizoid, drawing on UNICEF, WHO, World Bank: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME). Aggregation is based on UNICEF, WHO, and the World Bank harmonized dataset (adjusted, comparable data) and methodology., UN Children'. Retrieved 17 September 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/compare/prevalence-of-underweight-weight-for-age-percent-of-children-under-5/ethiopia/upper-middle-income/

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<a href="https://health.statizoid.com/compare/prevalence-of-underweight-weight-for-age-percent-of-children-under-5/ethiopia/upper-middle-income/">Ethiopia vs Upper middle income: Prevalence of underweight, weight for age</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator: Prevalence of underweight, weight for age (% of children under 5)
Unit: % of children under 5
Source: UNICEF, WHO, World Bank: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME). Aggregation is based on UNICEF, WHO, and the World Bank harmonized dataset (adjusted, comparable data) and methodology., UN Children'
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 110 places, 1,307 data points, 1984–2024
Last refreshed: 17 September 2026

Prevalence of underweight children is the percentage of children under age 5 whose weight for age is more than two standard deviations below the median for the international reference population ages 0-59 months. The data are based on the WHO's 2006 Child Growth Standards.