Which has higher prevalence of underweight, weight for age, Lesotho or Malawi?

Malawi, at 12.8% against 12.5% in Lesotho as of 2020.

How many years of comparable data are there for Lesotho and Malawi?

5 years are reported by both, from 1992 to 2018.

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.

Lesotho vs Malawi: Prevalence of underweight, weight for age

Lesotho

12.5%

in 2024

Malawi

12.8%

in 2020

Lesotho rank

37th

Malawi rank

36th

Prevalence of underweight, weight for age over time

Lesotho
Malawi

How they compare

Malawi currently reports 12.8% against 12.5% in Lesotho, a difference of 0.3%.

The two have swapped places 2 times across 5 shared years of data; in 1992 it was Malawi ahead.

Lesotho ranks 37th and Malawi ranks 36th of 96 countries.

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

Head to head by decade

Decade	Lesotho	Malawi	Difference	Ahead
1990s	13.8%	24.4%	10.6%	Malawi
2000s	15.0%	15.2%	0.2%	Malawi
2010s	10.5%	14.1%	3.6%	Malawi

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher prevalence of underweight, weight for age, Lesotho or Malawi?: Malawi, at 12.8% against 12.5% in Lesotho as of 2020.
What is the difference in prevalence of underweight, weight for age between Lesotho and Malawi?: 0.3%, with Malawi ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Lesotho and Malawi?: 5 years are reported by both, from 1992 to 2018.
How do Lesotho and Malawi rank globally for prevalence of underweight, weight for age?: Lesotho ranks 37th and Malawi ranks 36th 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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Lesotho vs Malawi: 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 15 September 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/compare/prevalence-of-underweight-weight-for-age-percent-of-children-under-5/lesotho/malawi/

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<a href="https://health.statizoid.com/compare/prevalence-of-underweight-weight-for-age-percent-of-children-under-5/lesotho/malawi/">Lesotho vs Malawi: 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: 03 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.