Prevalence of underweight among adults, BMI < 18.5 in New Zealand
New Zealand: Prevalence of underweight among adults, BMI < 18.5 was 1.28 in 2022. ▼ Falling
Latest (2022)
1.28
Change on year
up 0.8%
World rank
177th
of 193 countries
All-time high
2.16
in 1990
All-time low
1.26
in 2019
Years of data
33
1990–2022
Prevalence of underweight among adults, BMI < 18.5 in New Zealand, 1990–2022
Source: UNICEF.
Analysis
New Zealand recorded 1.28 for prevalence of underweight among adults, bmi < 18.5 in 2022.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.8% on the previous year and up 0.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of underweight among adults, bmi < 18.5 in New Zealand peaked at 2.16 in 1990 and was at its lowest, 1.26, in 2019.
That places New Zealand 177th 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.
Prevalence of underweight among adults, BMI < 18.5 in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 2.16 | — |
| 1991 | 2.07 | -4.2% |
| 1992 | 1.99 | -3.9% |
| 1993 | 1.91 | -4.0% |
| 1994 | 1.84 | -3.7% |
| 1995 | 1.77 | -3.8% |
| 1996 | 1.71 | -3.4% |
| 1997 | 1.65 | -3.5% |
| 1998 | 1.6 | -3.0% |
| 1999 | 1.55 | -3.1% |
| 2000 | 1.51 | -2.6% |
| 2001 | 1.48 | -2.0% |
| 2002 | 1.45 | -2.0% |
| 2003 | 1.43 | -1.4% |
| 2004 | 1.4 | -2.1% |
| 2005 | 1.38 | -1.4% |
| 2006 | 1.36 | -1.4% |
| 2007 | 1.33 | -2.2% |
| 2008 | 1.31 | -1.5% |
| 2009 | 1.3 | -0.8% |
| 2010 | 1.29 | -0.8% |
| 2011 | 1.28 | -0.8% |
| 2012 | 1.27 | -0.8% |
| 2013 | 1.27 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 1.27 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 1.27 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 1.27 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 1.27 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 1.27 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 1.26 | -0.8% |
| 2020 | 1.27 | +0.8% |
| 2021 | 1.27 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 1.28 | +0.8% |
New Zealand compared with similar countries
- New Zealand's 1.28 is below the median for high income countries, which is 1.89, 68% of the median. (61 countries reporting)
- New Zealand's 1.28 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 3.69, 35% of the median. (30 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.82 | 1.55 | 2.16 | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.51 | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.27 | 1.26 | 1.29 | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.27 | 1.27 | 1.28 | 3 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
More health data for New Zealand
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -2.94 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate -0.4815 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,116 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 33 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -0.1187 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.0277 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 0.018 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of underweight among adults, bmi < 18.5 in New Zealand?
- Prevalence of underweight among adults, bmi < 18.5 in New Zealand was 1.28 in 2022, according to UNICEF.
- What is the highest prevalence of underweight among adults, bmi < 18.5 recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 2.16 in 1990.
- What is the lowest prevalence of underweight among adults, bmi < 18.5 recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.26 in 2019.
- How does New Zealand rank for prevalence of underweight among adults, bmi < 18.5?
- New Zealand ranks 177th out of 193 countries with data for 2022.
- Is prevalence of underweight among adults, bmi < 18.5 rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.8%. 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 Prevalence of underweight among adults, BMI < 18.5 (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).