Exclusive breastfeeding (% of children under 6 months) by country
Exclusive breastfeeding refers to the percentage of children less than six months old who are fed breast milk alone (no other liquids) in the past 24 hours.
Countries reporting
72
Highest
80.9%
Sri Lanka
Lowest
4.6%
Dominican Republic
Median
44.2%
Years covered
35
1986–2020
Data points
509
What the numbers show
Exclusive breastfeeding (% of children under 6 months) is currently reported for 72 countries. The highest value is 80.9% in Sri Lanka; the lowest is 4.6% in Dominican Republic.
The median across all reporting countries is 44.2%, and the mean is 45.4%.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 18.
Over the past decade 58 countries rose and 14 fell. The largest increase was in Somalia (up 535.8%), and the largest decrease in Dominican Republic (down 54.1%).
Exclusive breastfeeding: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sri Lanka | 80.9% | 2016 | up 6.8% | volatile |
| 2 | Rwanda | 80.9% | 2020 | down 4.7% | flat |
| 3 | Burundi | 71.9% | 2019 | up 3.8% | rising |
| 4 | Zambia | 69.9% | 2018 | up 16.7% | volatile |
| 5 | Uganda | 65.5% | 2016 | up 10.9% | flat |
| 6 | Peru | 65.3% | 2019 | down 4.3% | rising |
| 7 | Cambodia | 65.2% | 2014 | up 8.6% | volatile |
| 8 | Timor-Leste | 65.0% | 2020 | up 28.0% | rising |
| 9 | Togo | 64.3% | 2017 | up 125.0% | volatile |
| 10 | Eswatini | 63.8% | 2014 | up 100.1% | rising |
| 11 | Sao Tome and Principe | 63.1% | 2019 | up 25.4% | rising |
| 12 | Bangladesh | 62.6% | 2019 | up 45.8% | rising |
| 13 | Nepal | 62.1% | 2019 | down 10.8% | falling |
| 14 | Kenya | 61.4% | 2014 | up 403.4% | volatile |
| 15 | Malawi | 59.4% | 2016 | up 4.8% | rising |
| 16 | Guinea-Bissau | 59.3% | 2019 | up 55.0% | rising |
| 17 | Lesotho | 59.0% | 2018 | up 11.5% | rising |
| 18 | Ethiopia | 58.8% | 2019 | up 13.2% | rising |
| 19 | India | 58.0% | 2018 | up 25.1% | rising |
| 19 | Mongolia | 58.0% | 2020 | down 11.7% | flat |
| 21 | Burkina Faso | 57.9% | 2019 | up 261.8% | volatile |
| 22 | Tanzania, United Republic of | 57.8% | 2018 | up 18.6% | rising |
| 23 | Bolivia, Plurinational State of | 55.7% | 2016 | up 3.9% | rising |
| 24 | Liberia | 55.2% | 2020 | up 62.4% | rising |
| 25 | Philippines | 54.9% | 2018 | up 66.5% | rising |
| 26 | Sierra Leone | 54.0% | 2019 | up 419.2% | volatile |
| 27 | Gambia | 53.6% | 2020 | up 61.7% | rising |
| 28 | Congo, Democratic Republic of the | 53.6% | 2018 | up 49.8% | rising |
| 29 | Guatemala | 53.2% | 2015 | up 5.2% | rising |
| 30 | Indonesia | 50.7% | 2017 | up 62.3% | falling |
| 31 | Madagascar | 50.6% | 2018 | up 1.0% | flat |
| 32 | Uzbekistan | 49.5% | 2017 | up 108.0% | volatile |
| 33 | Namibia | 48.3% | 2013 | up 191.1% | rising |
| 34 | Pakistan | 47.8% | 2019 | up 29.2% | rising |
| 35 | El Salvador | 46.7% | 2014 | up 94.7% | rising |
| 36 | Kyrgyzstan | 45.6% | 2018 | up 28.0% | rising |
| 37 | Ghana | 42.9% | 2018 | down 30.9% | volatile |
| 38 | Zimbabwe | 41.9% | 2019 | up 61.5% | rising |
| 39 | Benin | 41.4% | 2018 | down 3.7% | rising |
| 40 | Mozambique | 41.0% | 2014 | up 42.8% | rising |
| 41 | Senegal | 40.8% | 2019 | up 4.7% | rising |
| 42 | Türkiye | 40.7% | 2019 | down 2.2% | volatile |
| 43 | Cuba | 40.6% | 2019 | down 16.3% | rising |
| 44 | Mali | 40.5% | 2019 | up 100.7% | rising |
| 45 | Mauritania | 40.3% | 2018 | up 153.5% | rising |
| 46 | Haiti | 39.9% | 2017 | down 1.6% | volatile |
| 47 | Egypt | 39.5% | 2014 | up 30.1% | falling |
| 48 | Cameroon | 39.4% | 2019 | up 97.6% | rising |
| 49 | Palestine, State of | 38.9% | 2020 | up 35.4% | rising |
| 50 | Kazakhstan | 37.8% | 2015 | up 131.5% | rising |
| 51 | Colombia | 36.7% | 2016 | down 21.6% | rising |
| 52 | Albania | 36.5% | 2018 | down 1.6% | volatile |
| 53 | Central African Republic | 36.2% | 2019 | up 5.4% | rising |
| 54 | Tajikistan | 35.8% | 2017 | up 43.6% | rising |
| 55 | Morocco | 35.0% | 2018 | up 25.9% | falling |
| 56 | Somalia | 33.7% | 2019 | up 535.8% | volatile |
| 57 | Guinea | 33.4% | 2018 | down 30.3% | rising |
| 58 | Paraguay | 29.6% | 2016 | up 35.1% | rising |
| 59 | Nigeria | 28.7% | 2018 | up 128.6% | rising |
| 60 | North Macedonia | 27.5% | 2019 | up 19.5% | volatile |
| 61 | Mexico | 27.1% | 2019 | up 45.7% | flat |
| 62 | United States of America | 25.8% | 2018 | up 10.9% | rising |
| 63 | Jordan | 25.4% | 2018 | up 16.8% | falling |
| 64 | Viet Nam | 24.0% | 2014 | up 54.6% | rising |
| 65 | Serbia | 23.6% | 2019 | up 75.8% | rising |
| 66 | Côte d'Ivoire | 23.1% | 2016 | up 452.3% | volatile |
| 67 | Niger | 21.6% | 2019 | up 118.3% | volatile |
| 68 | Guyana | 21.1% | 2014 | up 0.5% | rising |
| 69 | Chad | 16.2% | 2019 | up 404.1% | volatile |
| 70 | Thailand | 14.0% | 2019 | down 7.3% | volatile |
| 71 | Tunisia | 13.5% | 2018 | up 118.5% | volatile |
| 72 | Dominican Republic | 4.6% | 2014 | down 54.1% | falling |
About this data
Exclusive breastfeeding refers to the percentage of children less than six months old who are fed breast milk alone (no other liquids) in the past 24 hours.