Percentage of thinness among children aged 5-19 years, BMI < -2 in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Percentage of thinness among children aged 5-19 years, BMI < -2 was 1.56 in 2022. ▲ Rising

Latest (2022)
1.56
Change on year
up 1.3%
World rank
173rd
of 193 countries
All-time high
1.56
in 2022
All-time low
1.24
in 1996
Years of data
33
1990–2022

Percentage of thinness among children aged 5-19 years, BMI < -2 in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 1990–2022

00.511.51990200620221990: 1.41991: 1.41992: 1.31993: 1.31994: 1.31995: 1.21996: 1.21997: 1.21998: 1.21999: 1.22000: 1.32001: 1.32002: 1.32003: 1.32004: 1.32005: 1.42006: 1.42007: 1.42008: 1.42009: 1.42010: 1.42011: 1.42012: 1.42013: 1.42014: 1.52015: 1.52016: 1.52017: 1.52018: 1.52019: 1.52020: 1.52021: 1.52022: 1.6

Source: UNICEF.

Analysis

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland recorded 1.56 for percentage of thinness among children aged 5-19 years, bmi < -2 in 2022. That is the highest value across all 33 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.3% on the previous year and up 7.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, percentage of thinness among children aged 5-19 years, bmi < -2 in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland peaked at 1.56 in 2022 and was at its lowest, 1.24, in 1996.

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ranks 173rd of 193 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

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

Percentage of thinness among children aged 5-19 years, BMI < -2 in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 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 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 1990 to 2022.
Year Value Change
1990 1.42
1991 1.36 -4.2%
1992 1.32 -2.9%
1993 1.29 -2.3%
1994 1.26 -2.3%
1995 1.25 -0.8%
1996 1.24 -0.8%
1997 1.24 +0.0%
1998 1.24 +0.0%
1999 1.25 +0.8%
2000 1.26 +0.8%
2001 1.28 +1.6%
2002 1.29 +0.8%
2003 1.31 +1.6%
2004 1.33 +1.5%
2005 1.35 +1.5%
2006 1.38 +2.2%
2007 1.4 +1.4%
2008 1.41 +0.7%
2009 1.43 +1.4%
2010 1.44 +0.7%
2011 1.44 +0.0%
2012 1.45 +0.7%
2013 1.45 +0.0%
2014 1.46 +0.7%
2015 1.46 +0.0%
2016 1.47 +0.7%
2017 1.48 +0.7%
2018 1.49 +0.7%
2019 1.5 +0.7%
2020 1.52 +1.3%
2021 1.54 +1.3%
2022 1.56 +1.3%

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland compared with similar countries

  • United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland's 1.56 is below the median for high income countries, which is 2.31, 68% of the median. (61 countries reporting)
  • United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland's 1.56 is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 2.64, 59% of the median. (49 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 1.29 1.24 1.42 10
2000s 1.34 1.26 1.43 10
2010s 1.46 1.44 1.5 10
2020s 1.54 1.52 1.56 3

Countries ranked near United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

  1. 170 Tuvalu 1.72 compare
  2. 171 Croatia 1.67 compare
  3. 172 Switzerland 1.66 compare
  4. 173 Australia 1.56 compare
  5. 175 Spain 1.49 compare
  6. 175 Norway 1.49 compare

See the full ranking of 349 places →

More health data for United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

All data for United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland →

Frequently asked questions

What is percentage of thinness among children aged 5-19 years, bmi < -2 in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
Percentage of thinness among children aged 5-19 years, bmi < -2 in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was 1.56 in 2022, according to UNICEF.
What is the highest percentage of thinness among children aged 5-19 years, bmi < -2 recorded in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
The highest recorded value was 1.56 in 2022.
What is the lowest percentage of thinness among children aged 5-19 years, bmi < -2 recorded in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
The lowest recorded value was 1.24 in 1996.
How does United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland rank for percentage of thinness among children aged 5-19 years, bmi < -2?
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ranks 173rd out of 193 countries with data for 2022.
Is percentage of thinness among children aged 5-19 years, bmi < -2 rising or falling in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
Over the last ten years it is up 7.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 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 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Statizoid, drawing on UNICEF. Retrieved 14 September 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/percentage-of-thinness-among-children-aged-5-19-years-bmi-2-standard-deviations-below-the/united-kingdom/

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/united-kingdom/">Percentage of thinness among children aged 5-19 years, BMI < -2 in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland</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