Percentage of thinness among children aged 5-19 years, BMI < -2 in New Zealand

New Zealand: Percentage of thinness among children aged 5-19 years, BMI < -2 was 0.95 in 2022. ▼ Falling

Latest (2022)
0.95
Change on year
up 2.2%
World rank
189th
of 193 countries
All-time high
1.12
in 1990
All-time low
0.86
in 2009
Years of data
33
1990–2022

Percentage of thinness among children aged 5-19 years, BMI < -2 in New Zealand, 1990–2022

00.250.50.7511990200620221990: 1.11991: 1.11992: 1.11993: 1.11994: 1.11995: 1.11996: 1.11997: 1.11998: 11999: 12000: 12001: 0.992002: 0.962003: 0.942004: 0.922005: 0.92006: 0.892007: 0.882008: 0.872009: 0.862010: 0.862011: 0.862012: 0.872013: 0.872014: 0.882015: 0.882016: 0.892017: 0.892018: 0.892019: 0.92020: 0.922021: 0.932022: 0.95

Source: UNICEF.

Analysis

The most recent figure for percentage of thinness among children aged 5-19 years, bmi < -2 in New Zealand is 0.95, measured in 2022.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.2% on the previous year and up 9.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, percentage of thinness among children aged 5-19 years, bmi < -2 in New Zealand peaked at 1.12 in 1990 and was at its lowest, 0.86, in 2009.

That places New Zealand 189th out of 193 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 33 years of available data.

Percentage of thinness among children aged 5-19 years, BMI < -2 in New Zealand, year by year

Annual values for Percentage of thinness among children aged 5-19 years, BMI < -2 standard deviations below the median (crude estimate) in New Zealand, 1990 to 2022.
Year Value Change
1990 1.12
1991 1.11 -0.9%
1992 1.1 -0.9%
1993 1.09 -0.9%
1994 1.09 +0.0%
1995 1.08 -0.9%
1996 1.07 -0.9%
1997 1.06 -0.9%
1998 1.04 -1.9%
1999 1.03 -1.0%
2000 1.01 -1.9%
2001 0.99 -2.0%
2002 0.96 -3.0%
2003 0.94 -2.1%
2004 0.92 -2.1%
2005 0.9 -2.2%
2006 0.89 -1.1%
2007 0.88 -1.1%
2008 0.87 -1.1%
2009 0.86 -1.1%
2010 0.86 +0.0%
2011 0.86 +0.0%
2012 0.87 +1.2%
2013 0.87 +0.0%
2014 0.88 +1.1%
2015 0.88 +0.0%
2016 0.89 +1.1%
2017 0.89 +0.0%
2018 0.89 +0.0%
2019 0.9 +1.1%
2020 0.92 +2.2%
2021 0.93 +1.1%
2022 0.95 +2.2%

New Zealand compared with similar countries

  • New Zealand's 0.95 is below the median for high income countries, which is 2.31, 41% of the median. (61 countries reporting)
  • New Zealand's 0.95 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 2.83, 34% of the median. (30 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 1.08 1.03 1.12 10
2000s 0.922 0.86 1.01 10
2010s 0.879 0.86 0.9 10
2020s 0.9333 0.92 0.95 3

Countries ranked near New Zealand

  1. 186 Tokelau 1.04 compare
  2. 187 Chile 1.02 compare
  3. 188 Micronesia, Federated States of 0.96 compare
  4. 190 Naoero 0.89 compare
  5. 191 Cook Islands 0.88 compare
  6. 192 Niue 0.74 compare

See the full ranking of 349 places →

More health data for New Zealand

All data for New Zealand →

Frequently asked questions

What is percentage of thinness among children aged 5-19 years, bmi < -2 in New Zealand?
Percentage of thinness among children aged 5-19 years, bmi < -2 in New Zealand was 0.95 in 2022, according to UNICEF.
What is the highest percentage of thinness among children aged 5-19 years, bmi < -2 recorded in New Zealand?
The highest recorded value was 1.12 in 1990.
What is the lowest percentage of thinness among children aged 5-19 years, bmi < -2 recorded in New Zealand?
The lowest recorded value was 0.86 in 2009.
How does New Zealand rank for percentage of thinness among children aged 5-19 years, bmi < -2?
New Zealand ranks 189th out of 193 countries with data for 2022.
Is percentage of thinness among children aged 5-19 years, bmi < -2 rising or falling in New Zealand?
Over the last ten years it is up 9.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this New Zealand data come from?
The figures come from UNICEF, published as part of Percentage of thinness among children aged 5-19 years, BMI < -2 standard deviations below the median (crude estimate). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 33 observations, free to reuse under UNICEF Terms of Use (attribution required).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Percentage of thinness among children aged 5-19 years, BMI < -2 in New Zealand. Statizoid, drawing on UNICEF. Retrieved 15 September 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/percentage-of-thinness-among-children-aged-5-19-years-bmi-2-standard-deviations-below-the/new-zealand/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under UNICEF Terms of Use (attribution required); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://health.statizoid.com/stat/percentage-of-thinness-among-children-aged-5-19-years-bmi-2-standard-deviations-below-the/new-zealand/">Percentage of thinness among children aged 5-19 years, BMI < -2 in New Zealand</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Percentage of thinness among children aged 5-19 years, BMI < -2 standard deviations below the median (crude estimate)
Source
UNICEF
Licence
UNICEF Terms of Use (attribution required)
Coverage
349 places, 9,957 data points, 1990–2022
Last refreshed