Low-birthweight babies in Malta

Malta: Low-birthweight babies was 7.2% in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)
7.2%
Change on year
up 0.5%
World rank
118th
of 157 countries
All-time high
7.2%
in 2020
All-time low
6.6%
in 2000
Years of data
21
2000–2020

Low-birthweight babies in Malta, 2000–2020

024682000201020202000: 6.6 % of births2001: 6.6 % of births2002: 6.6 % of births2003: 6.7 % of births2004: 6.7 % of births2005: 6.7 % of births2006: 6.8 % of births2007: 6.8 % of births2008: 6.8 % of births2009: 6.9 % of births2010: 6.9 % of births2011: 6.9 % of births2012: 7 % of births2013: 7 % of births2014: 7 % of births2015: 7 % of births2016: 7.1 % of births2017: 7.1 % of births2018: 7.1 % of births2019: 7.2 % of births2020: 7.2 % of births

Source: UNICEF-WHO Low birthweight estimates, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF). Measured in % of births.

Analysis

The most recent figure for low-birthweight babies in Malta is 7.2%, measured in 2020. That is the highest value across all 21 years on record.

That represents a change of up 0.5% on the previous year and up 4.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, low-birthweight babies in Malta peaked at 7.2% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 6.6%, in 2000.

That places Malta 118th out of 157 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 21 years of available data.

Low-birthweight babies in Malta, year by year

Annual values for Low-birthweight babies (% of births) in Malta, 2000 to 2020.
Year % of births Change
2000 6.6%
2001 6.6% +0.5%
2002 6.6% +0.5%
2003 6.7% +0.5%
2004 6.7% +0.6%
2005 6.7% +0.5%
2006 6.8% +0.6%
2007 6.8% +0.5%
2008 6.8% +0.5%
2009 6.9% +0.5%
2010 6.9% +0.5%
2011 6.9% +0.5%
2012 7.0% +0.4%
2013 7.0% +0.4%
2014 7.0% +0.4%
2015 7.0% +0.3%
2016 7.1% +0.3%
2017 7.1% +0.3%
2018 7.1% +0.4%
2019 7.2% +0.5%
2020 7.2% +0.5%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 6.7% 6.6% 6.9% 10
2010s 7.0% 6.9% 7.2% 10
2020s 7.2% 7.2% 7.2% 1

Countries ranked near Malta

  1. 115 Russian Federation 7.3% compare
  2. 116 Italy 7.2% compare
  3. 117 Algeria 7.2% compare
  4. 119 Cuba 7.1% compare
  5. 120 Chile 6.8% compare
  6. 121 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 6.8% compare

See the full ranking of 188 places →

More health data for Malta

All data for Malta →

Frequently asked questions

What is low-birthweight babies in Malta?
Low-birthweight babies in Malta was 7.2% in 2020, according to UNICEF-WHO Low birthweight estimates, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
What is the highest low-birthweight babies recorded in Malta?
The highest recorded value was 7.2% in 2020.
What is the lowest low-birthweight babies recorded in Malta?
The lowest recorded value was 6.6% in 2000.
How does Malta rank for low-birthweight babies?
Malta ranks 118th out of 157 countries with data for 2020.
Is low-birthweight babies rising or falling in Malta?
Over the last ten years it is up 4.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Malta data come from?
The figures come from UNICEF-WHO Low birthweight estimates, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), published as part of Low-birthweight babies (% of births). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 21 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Low-birthweight babies in Malta. Statizoid, drawing on UNICEF-WHO Low birthweight estimates, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF). Retrieved 02 September 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/low-birthweight-babies-percent-of-births/malta/

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/stat/low-birthweight-babies-percent-of-births/malta/">Low-birthweight babies in Malta</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Low-birthweight babies (% of births)
Unit
% of births
Source
UNICEF-WHO Low birthweight estimates, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
188 places, 3,948 data points, 2000–2020
Last refreshed

Low-birthweight babies are newborns weighing less than 2,500 grams, with the measurement taken within the first hour of life, before significant postnatal weight loss has occurred.