Which has higher prevalence of underweight, weight for age, Laos or World?

Laos, at 24.3% against 12.2% in World as of 2023.

How many years of comparable data are there for Laos and World?

6 years are reported by both, from 2000 to 2023.

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.

Laos vs World: Prevalence of underweight, weight for age (% of children under 5)

Laos

24.3%

in 2023

World

12.2%

in 2024

Laos rank

8th

World rank

7th

Prevalence of underweight, weight for age (% of children under 5) over time

Laos
World

How they compare

Laos currently reports 24.3% against 12.2% in World, a difference of 12.1%.

That makes Laos's figure about 2.0 times World's.

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

Laos ranks 8th and World ranks 7th of 96 countries.

Laos has averaged higher in every one of the 3 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Laos	World	Difference	Ahead
2000s	33.6%	19.7%	13.9%	Laos
2010s	24.4%	14.7%	9.7%	Laos
2020s	24.3%	12.4%	11.9%	Laos

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher prevalence of underweight, weight for age, Laos or World?: Laos, at 24.3% against 12.2% in World as of 2023.
What is the difference in prevalence of underweight, weight for age between Laos and World?: 12.1%, with Laos ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Laos and World?: 6 years are reported by both, from 2000 to 2023.
How do Laos and World rank globally for prevalence of underweight, weight for age?: Laos ranks 8th and World ranks 7th 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.

Individual pages

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Laos vs World: 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 12 November 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/compare/prevalence-of-underweight-weight-for-age-percent-of-children-under-5/lao-pdr/world/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://health.statizoid.com/compare/prevalence-of-underweight-weight-for-age-percent-of-children-under-5/lao-pdr/world/">Laos vs World: 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: 12 November 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.